A banquet and other royal duties
by dead.but.true
Summary: Formerly published as "The Dinner". Collection of one shots, mostly set after LN volume 10. Various stories of the daily life and special events in and around Nazarick.
1. Dinner in Nazarick

**Legal bullshit called disclaimer: I do not own Overlord blah blah and so on.**

 **A/N: Well well well, back again, this time with an one-shot again. It's Overlord this time. I read all the novels (by the way, fuck you, Yen Press) and there was a particular scene in Volume 8 that piqued my interest. I really like the character of Enri Emmot and can't wait for what will happen in the next volume, now that she is the *spoiler alert* Goblin general as well as Ainz' true form was revealed. Anyway, the scene I am talking about is the dinner. All the dishes are mentioned, but the dinner isn't described. Still, the way Enri acted in Nazarick fascinated me, so I thought I'd write it. Enjoy!**

After a few moments they arrived in front of a big door. At Ainz' arrival the doors opened and showed the room behind them. It was a big dining room. A thick red carpet covered the ground and a large banquet table stood in the middle of the room, with high and comfortable chairs. A fire crackled in another big fireplace, adorned with sparkling tiles. Two maids stood next to a second, smaller door. They bowed their heads respectfully to Ainz.

"Forgive me for not joining you, but as I said, it's something to be enjoyed as a family. I will meet you after the meal.", said Ainz.

"N-no, it's alright! I'm v-very grateful for the invitation and the dinner.", stuttered Enri and bowed. Ainz nodded in acknowledgment and left.

‑

Unsure what to do, Enri, Nemu and Nfirea stood in the middle of the room, until a maid spoke up.

"Please be seated.", she said in a gentle voice.

"Ah, yes, thank you.", said Nfirea. As the three approached the table, three maids pulled chairs back, waiting for them to sit down.

The chairs were all decorated with intricate carvings, showing creatures and several crests which were most likely coat of arms. The dark wood was smooth and polished, and although Enri didn't know what kind of wood it was, she recognized it as extremely valuable – just like everything else here. Purple cushions laid on the chairs, silken and filled with only the most soft materials. As Enri sat down, she was in bliss. Never before she had sat so comfortable.

After the three had sat down, the maids began to put dishes and cutlery in front of them. Large porcelain plates in a radiant white with a golden rim, knives, forks and spoons made out of a sparkling metal, with elaborate designs, and cups with high stems, only the finest crystal, all this was arranged in front of them.

One maid stood at the entrance, while two maids disappeared through the smaller door. The last maid stood next to them. Only moments later the two maids returned with carts full of plates and pitchers.

"What would you like to drink? We can offer you 'Water of the Fountain of Youth', 'Black wine from Helheim' and 'Orange juice'.", said the maid next to them.

"I, uh, I think I'll drink water.", said Nfirea.

"Juice for me!", shouted Nemu happily.

"I will also drink juice.", added Enri nervously. Again everything was only of the highest quality. What if she dropped a cup? What if she spilled something? Anxiously she watched as the maid poured her a cup of juice. It was orange in color and had a slight citrus fragrance. Enri took the cup and sipped a little. Immediately a strong and refreshing flavor flowered on her taste buds. Taking a second sip, she felt how her body brimmed with energy.

"Amazing...", whispered Enri.

"It's sooo delicious!", exclaimed Nemu with a bright smile.

‑

The maid clapped her hands. Upon hearing this, the other two maids took several plates and placed them in front of them. Removing the lids, they began to explain.

"This one here is scallop salad and star plum confit. Over here we have Piercing Lobster in velouté sauce. Lastly, Poiret's foie gras of Viðopnir ."

Stunned Enri looked at the plates. A mouthwatering scent waved over them. She never had heard of those foods, but the way they were arranged and the names alone told her that it was high-class food.

 _Just how important is Lord Ainz?_ , thought Enri.

"Pardon me, but what would you like to eat?", asked the maid.

"Eh?! I-I think I'll try the lobster.", stuttered Enri.

"Lobster it is, then.", said the maid and put two pieces on her plate. Confused and nervous Enri looked at them. How was she even supposed to eat them? With her fingers, or should she use the cutlery? After a brief moment of thinking, she took a knife and fork and put a piece in her mouth.

Immediately the soft and tender meat melted away on her tongue. The sweetness of the lobster was complimented by the salty and slightly sour sauce.

"Amazing.", muttered Enri.

"This one is so delicious, too!", laughed Nemu. She was eating the foie gras.

Enri glanced over to Nfirea. He was silent, but clearly enjoyed the food very much.

"Amazing...I don't think a regular noble could afford this...no, I'm not even sure if the king could eat something like this.", muttered Nfirea.

Enri was not surprised to hear this. Everything she had seen so far reminded her of nothing less but royalty.

 _I don't think Lord Ainz is a simple noble...he is way too wealthy for that. Just who is he?_ , thought Enri, but she probably would never know the truth.

"I hope everything was to your liking.", said the maid.

"Y-yes, very much so.", answered Nfirea.

"Then, next is the soup. It is an Alfheim-style cream of chestnut and potato.", explained the maid. The two maids next to the carts took the lid off a big bowl and served them a creamy, yellowy dish. After seasoning it by sprinkling a few green herbs on top of it, they gave them the plates.

Picking up a spoon, Enri began to eat. The soup had a unique, but wonderful taste. Its creamy consistence slid down her throat with ease and filled her up with warmth. This soup was the best she had ever eaten, all those homemade soups paled in comparison to it.

"Marvelous.", said Nfirea. Enri and Nemu could do nothing but agree.

‑

Enri was in bliss. Sure, eating just for the sake of filling her stomach and pure nutrition was and everyday routine, but eating just for the taste of it was something she could never have dreamed of. On top of that, everything she had eaten so far were dishes that couldn't possibly exist out of Ainz Ooal Gown's realm.

"Seeing that you have finished the soup, it's time for the main course.", announced the maid. Plates with grilled steaks, still sizzling, were again placed in front of them.

"Marbled steak of the ancient frost dragons of Jotunheim.", explained the maid.

Finally. Enri didn't even know that dragon meat was edible, but Nfirea began to explain: "It is unbelievably rare for dragons to be found, and even more so for them to be slain. This steak probably costs its weight in gold, if not even more."

"And Lord Ainz is serving us such a dish casually like it was porridge...", whispered Enri.

"It is indeed true that Lord Ainz is not only extremely wealthy and owner of a lot of different treasures, but also very generous. A dish like this is nothing that would cost him anything.", said the maid casually.

Enri gulped in awe. Now it had been confrmed: Ainz Ooal Gown held more riches than nobles and kings; he was superior to everyone else.

"It is nigh impossible for such a person to exist.", muttered Enri.

"For us residents of the Great Tomb of Nazarick Lord Ainz is nothing less than a god.", smiled the maid.

"A god...maybe that's true.", said Enri. Unlike Nfirea, who had grown up in E-Rantel, which had several shrines and temples, Carne village had neither those nor a cleric. Although they believed in the four Gods, their faith was rather low. In fact, it seemed that Ainz was closer to a god than any of those entities they'd been told about.

Thinking this, Enri took a bite of the steak. Although the hors d'oeuvre and the soup had been breathtaking, both paled in comparison to this single slab of meat. Tender yet firm, an exquisite and rich flavor, she couldn't really describe this. A glance to the side made it obvious that Nemu and Nfirea felt the same. Nemu could barely contain her excitement, she was eating the steak eagerly. Enri was surprised that Nemu could eat this much, but this was most likely a once in a lifetime event.

 _I never knew such delight...I wonder what I did to deserve this_ , thought Enri.

‑

After some time – it felt like an eternity – they had finished the steak. Immediately the maids put the plates away and placed bowls before them.

"This one – ", the maid pointed at a dish. " – is Golden Apple compot in white wine with yogurt topping. The other one is black tea ice cream with gold leaf."

"G-gold leaf?", asked Enri confused.

"Yes, the ice cream is coated with a thin layer of pure gold. Eating it won't pose any problems, though.", said the maid. "And of course you can have seconds."

‑

The compot had been delicious, but the ice cream was something she never imagined existing. It was a little like snow, but creamy and sweet. The gold itself was tasteless, and Enri found it a little bizarre that she was eating the amount of money she was earning with months of working, just because it looked good – but then again, the gold was nothing in comparison to the value of those dishes.

After the meal the maids put away the plates, bowls and cutlery and served a thick, orange juice in goblets of gold. Again, a single sip was enough to amaze her. It was unbelievably sweet, and rich in flavor. Thinking of everything that had happened so far, she had a confusing picture of Ainz. A strong magic caster, wealthy beyond belief, in such a – hidden – residence, and those maids...it was impossible, and yet he did exist. In fact, to her he was someone she trusted more than any noble. When they were attacked by soldiers and monsters, the one who came to their rescue had always been Ainz. He was generous and kind.

 _It would be so much better if he'd be our king...Lord Ainz always keeps an eye on us and helps us out._

Suddenly the two maids opened the big doors. "Lord Ainz has returned.", announced one.

"Did you enjoy your meal?", asked the magic caster.

"Y-yes! It was very delicious! Thank you very much!", said Enri and bowed. Ainz chuckled.

"Well then, let's talk about business..."


	2. Invitation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord**

 **A/N: So...yeah. Quick update, not that of a long chapter, only a few hundred words. I just wanted to say that I decided to write some more Overlord stories, but I haven't named it yet. Just keep your eyes open. This chapter is what you could call a spoiler; it is not really relevant for the upcoming stories, but I didn't want to just put a note out there. Enjoy!**

Ainz sat as his desk and was about to read new reports that had recently arrived, when somebody knocked at the door of his office. He heard the Eight Edge Assassins rustling around, getting ready to defend him from a possible intruder. With a wink of his hand he signalized Albedo to open the door. One of the 41 maids was standing outside.

"Lord Ainz, the ambassador of the Baharuth Empire, Roune Vermilinen, has arrived.", she said and bowed down.

"Hoh?", asked Ainz surprised. "Send him in."

"As you wish.", said the maid. After a brief moment, a man entered the office. He was slim, had graying hair and wore expensive clothes.

"Your Majesty.", he said and bowed down.

"Ambassador Vermilinen, what a pleasant surprise. What is the matter?", said Ainz in a generous matter. On the inside, however, he was slightly panicking. If he would still be human, he would sweat by now.

 _What does he want from me? Did something happen? Uwah, what should I do?_

Keeping his calm on the outside, he waited for Roune to speak up.

"Your Majesty, I received His Majesty's, namely the Emperor of the Baharuth Empire, answer to your recent invitation. He will gladly follow it and is ready to attend anytime.", said Roune.

"A-ah, is that so...", said Ainz.

 _What is he talking about? What invitation? Oh, wait...that's right, as Demiurge suggested, I invited the Emperor to a banquet to celebrate him becoming my vassal..._

"Ehem. Well, we will decide on a date and notify you. We will proceed with haste and provide the best service for the Emperor.", said Ainz. Roune bowed again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty.", he said.

After the exchange of other pleasantries, Roune had left again and Ainz was in a bind. Not only was he overworked from managing E-Rantel and all other tasks, now he also had to plan a banquet.

"Hah...", he sighed.

 _It cannot be helped._

With that in mind, Ainz began planning the menu.

 **A/N: Yeah, I know, exceptionally short. Don't worry, the dinner with the Emperor will certainly be a lot longer. Can't wait to write it. If everything works out, the first story should be up by tomorrow evening (CET). Til then, I hope.**


	3. A banquet

**Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord**

 **A/N: So, after a lot of positive feedback that my Overlord one-shot received, I decided to write some more. Although I'd love to write a longer story, I still have much other obligations, which is why I will post only one-shots. I will focus on content after volume 9 and 10, although some stories will revolve around characters and events previous to that.**

 **The first chapter of this collection will – again – be a banquet, since some people requested it. Since it isn't mentioned (yet, maybe in volume 11?), I'll make up the dishes; I hope they turn out well.**

 **I already have some ideas for at least two other chapters, but since I will update different stories first, I think they'll be up in a minimum of a week, if not more. Sorry for that. Well, and now – enjoy!**

The heavy gates of E-Rantel opened to let a set of carriages pass through. Normally one would have to undergo control and customs before he could enter the city, but the guards knew better. The five carriages were accompanied by cavalry bearing the crest of the Baharuth Empire. This was without doubt the Bloody Emperor, Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived in E-Rantel."

The man who said this was a man in exquisite armor, one of the three best knights in the Empire. His name was Baziwood, called "Gale".

"Is that so.", said a man facing him. He was young and beautiful, although his hair seemed to thin out a little. The corner of his mouth formed into a bitter smile.

 _After all, it came down to this...a banquet with Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerer King._ , thought Jircniv. He was unsure what to expect, but he knew that this fearsome creature would without have some surprise prepared. _When I met him first, I thought it was a mere war of words...then he interrupted my talks with the Slain Theocracy, and now it has come down to this. What should I do?_

"Are you not feeling well?", asked the man next to Baziwood. It was a scribe, a man Jircniv trusted, although he was not as good as Roune had been; he was currently the Empire's ambassador.

"Ah, no, I'm alright. I just wonder what he prepared for us...", evaded Jircniv.

 _Never show weakness._ A concept he embraced. If he would show weakness just for a split second, the nobles left after his purge could rebel. He could never truly let his guard down, especially now that the Sorcerer King had risen.

"I'm sure it will be exceptional.", said Baziwood. He had to admit, Jircniv would never be able such a banquet as it was to come, but he couldn't say it out loud. Jircniv seemed to know that.

"Of course it will.", said Jircniv with a bitter smile. He remembered the juice he had been served when he had first traveled to the Great Tomb of Nazarick to apologize to Ainz Ooal Gown. He never drank such a delicious beverage before and after this event, and everything else had paled in comparison to it.

‑

The carriages had come to an halt. They had arrived.

"Your Majesty.", said Baziwood and opened the door, exiting the carriage, followed by the scribe. After those two, Jircniv emerged, donned in exquisite clothes, with a scepter and a diadem. He befit the rumors and looked as royal as possible, as if the essence of a monarch had been concentrated into one person. In contrast to that stood the person that stood tall in short distance.

"Jircniv-dono. I hope you had a safe and uneventful journey.", said a skeleton; the creature stood at the end of a long red carpet. Along the carpet several undead had lined up.

"Greetings, Gown-dono. I could not complain, as my journey was indeed uneventful.", smiled Jircniv. Being rather calm on the outside, he was desperate.

 _This incarnation of death, this damned magic caster...! No, I must keep my calm. From now on, the Empire's fate is on the line._

Jircniv stepped forward, slowly, until he had reached Ainz and his entourage. It was Mare, the young dark elf girl that once wreaked havoc in his castle. Mare quickly bowed down.

"If you'd be so kind to follow me, we arranged everything inside.", said Ainz and began to enter a big house. "Since I now reside in E-Rantel, I can't use the facilities of Nazarick. I hope this house still satisfies your needs."

 _Don't act like you're actually sorry._

Jircniv felt his anger grow every single second. Ainz Ooal Gown, an entity this powerful, no matter what he did – Jircniv couldn't act offended. He was a vassal, and any kind of retribution would be senseless, if not fatal.

‑

After several minutes they entered a room that was fairly large. It was decorated with pure white clothes, and a big red curtain with a golden embroidery – the crest of Ainz Ooal Gown – hung at the back wall. A large dining table stood in the middle of the room.

"This room was once used to hold banquets for the king. I think it is befitting for such an occasion. Unfortunately, it will be only us; there are no nobles left in the Sorcerous Kingdom.", said Ainz.

"I understand. I will be in your care.", said Jircniv, trying to act normal. As he looked around, he saw someone approaching.

"My darling Jir!"

"Fluder.", said Jircniv reserved. The old man didn't flinch, he just caressed his beard. He was studying under Ainz Ooal Gown now, having betrayed the Empire – in the eyes of many, that is. Fluder "Triple Magic Caster" Paradyne himself never had found himself bound to the Baharuth Empire. It was just another part of his journey in search of the abyss of magic, which he had found.

"It is good to see you again.", said Fluder with a slightly ironic smile.

"...It is nice to see you again, Fluder.", said Jircniv with a sour smile; just a few months he would have called him affectionally "Gramps", but all of this had vanished after they went to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

"Ahem.", coughed Ainz. Both humans turned around and faced him. "Due to work, only Mare will join us today; Roune excused himself, too."

After this brief note, Ainz simply waved his hand. Seeing this, several maids entered the room. Jircniv recognized one of them as the maid that had greeted him a few months ago; her name was Yuri Alpha. The other maids were stunning beauties, but seemed comparably less so than the ones a few months ago.

"Please be seated.", said Yuri Alpha and showed Ainz his seat, the other maids doing so with Mare, Jircniv and Fluder. Ainz sat at the head of the table, next to him were Mare and Fluder. Jircniv was placed at the other end, far away from him.

 _It is as if he is looking down on me...but he is, isn't he?_

"Forgive me, but I will not partake in this dinner. As you might see, this body isn't able to digest or eat.", said Ainz with a light chuckle. Jircniv smiled politely, but this joke made him sick. Dining with a skeleton – that he had sworn loyalty to – was probably the last thing he wanted to do.

"Ah, there's no problem with that.", smiled Jircniv politely. Ainz nodded and clapped his hands. After this signal, maids entered and placed glasses in front of them. Once again, those high yet incredible thin stems and the intricate carvings in the exquisite crystal were breathtaking. They were filled with an ominous green liquid.

"Fairy Blood, wine made from the finest grapes of Asgard and various herbs from the Fairy Kingdom.", explained Yuri. Jircniv raised his glass.

"To our new alliance.", he said. Ainz nodded and raised an empty cup.

"Let's celebrate the vassalage of the Baharuth Empire.", said Ainz.

"L-long live Ainz Ooal Gown.", said Mare and raised his class.

"Long live Ainz Ooal Gown.", said Fluder.

"...Long live Ainz Ooal Gown.", added Jircniv.

After the toast he smelled the wine. It was a sweet and slightly intoxicating smell. Unsure what was awaiting him, he took a sip. His taste buds were flowered with a sweet yet herbal taste. It put him a little at ease and his stomachache subsided.

"Yuri, I believe it's time to serve.", said Ainz.

"As you command, Lord Ainz.", said Yuri and bowed down.

‑

"For starters, we serve Moby Dick's Blubber, Baldr's Salad and various fruits from Wanenheim. As soup we will be serving a broth made from Naglfar. The main dish will be a fry of Kvasir with potato dumplings and rotkohl. As dessert we will be serving various cakes and finally a bottle of Surtr's Tears.", said Yuri Alpha.

 _What?! I've never even heard of those things! I bet they are incredibly rare and expensive, but knowing him, I don't know if they even exist outside of Nazarick...Ainz Ooal Gown, you're a fearsome being._

After they had described the menu, the maids placed several plates in front of Jircniv and Fluder; Mare got just a plate of fruits.

"Enjoy your meal, Emperor Jircniv.", said Ainz, the red dots in his eye sockets burning slightly brighter than before.

"I will certainly do so.", said Jircniv. Looking down on his plates, he decided to try the blubber first.

 _Whale meat, huh...I ate it once, it was not bad. I wonder how the Nazarick version of this dish will taste._

The blubber was exceptionally white and pale. As he ate it, he felt it melt on his tongue. It was incredibly fatty and had a strong flavor. Jircniv calmly swallowed and exhaled a little. The blubber he had eaten years ago paled in comparison to this exquisite slab of meat. Moving on to the salad, he did not recognize a single component of it. He took a fork full of it and bit down. The leaves were crunchy and juicy, but had no strong taste. The sauce was slightly sour and the herbs and red fruits – tomatoes? – were intense in taste. The mixture of all those ingredients was what made that dish great. Jircniv had never eaten such a salad before.

 _I guess that was to be expected. Now for the fruits._

It was a small heap of several fruits that looked like grapes and berries. The grapes were incredibly sweet, some berries were sour, each and everyone was delicious in her own way, and the aftertaste blended together in a firework of delight.

"Delicious! I could have such a feast every day. Isn't that right, my darling Jir?", smiled Fluder with a content smile. The few months he had spend at the side of Ainz Ooal Gown had changed him. He became a new man, or rather than that, he had shown his true face. He seemed happier, though.

"Indeed, I have to say, these dishes were of exceptional quality.", admitted Jircniv begrudgingly. Ainz nodded.

"Thank you. Now, Yuri, the soup."

‑

The plates and cutlery he had used to eat so far were of a quality he could never afford, and so was the soup plate and the spoon. Rare metals, elaborate designs, befitting a royalty like the Sorcerer King. The soup itself looked a little...strange. It was a clear broth with some...things swimming inside it. With a doubtful gaze he raised a spoon and tried it.

The soup was salty, and the things were rather crunchy. Still, it was delicious beyond belief; the aftertaste of the soup was something he had never tasted before. He couldn't really describe it, was it sweet? It was a slightly familiar taste, that reminded him of his childhood, for some reason. He didn't know why, though.

"Ah, the famous broth of Naglfar...", sighed Ainz and seemed to chuckle. He then looked at Mare. "How comes you don't eat it, Mare?"

"F-forgive me, Lord Ainz, b-but I am not able to eat soup right now.", stuttered Mare.

"Is that so.", said Ainz. "It can't be helped then. Is it to your liking, Emperor Jircniv?"

"Very much so.", nodded Jircniv.

"And to think that had been an Aprils Fool item.", muttered Ainz. "Well, seeing that you have finished, it's time for the main dish. Fry of Kvasir, isn't it?"

"Yes, Lord Ainz.", nodded Yuri Alpha.

‑

After the maids had served the main dish, Jircniv looked on his plate. The rotkohl was a red vegetable dish, probably something like cabbage. The potato dumplings were big, bigger than an apple. The fry were a few thick slices, covered in a brown sauce.

The meat was tender and easy to cut. He couldn't tell the taste. Sometimes he would think it was poultry, sometimes fish – chicken and tuna? That made no sense. It was spiced perfectly, salty and strong.

"Excuse me, but what is Kvasir?", asked Jircniv interested.

"Oh, it's long pig. Divine long pig, one could say.", said Ainz.

"Long pig...", said Jircniv confused. He had no idea what that was, but he didn't really wanted to know either.

‑

Now the time had come for the dessert. It was an assortment of various small cakes, fruit, chocolate, lots of cream, some even seemed to be decorated with powdered gold. They were sweet, fruity and delightful, and Jircniv knew that no patisserie in his empire could make dishes like this.

Finally a bottle filled with an orange liquid was put on the table. It glowed and looked like magma. The maids filled small glasses with the drink; it looked like it was burning, but the drops at the outside of the glass indicated the drink was cold.

"Surtr's Tears, one of the finest liquors available.", explained Ainz. "I prepared one bottle for you to take home with you."

 _Donating me a single bottle of liquor? What is this, a joke? But something given by him is extremely valuable..._

"I accept it full of gratitude. My humble thanks.", said Jircniv and bowed his head. He raised his glass for a toast. "To Ainz Ooal Gown!"

The others joined in and he downed the drink. It burned, but filled him with new vigor. He felt hot inside, but in a comfortable way. The bottle this damned skeleton would give to him was an invaluable present.

 _Hah, I cannot win against him in even a single category. Wealth, power, women...no matter what, I will always lose. The Slain Theocracy has left me, and the Baharuth Empire is now a vassal to him. But we managed to survived nearly unharmed...I guess it's okay for now._

‑

After a few minutes of talking the banquet had ended and after giving him his bottle he was guided to his carriages. His men had a strange look on their faces, but reacted as demanded. They exchanged pleasantries, and then Jircniv left for the Empire again.

Back in the carriage, Baziwood looked at him. "So?", he simply asked.

"...overwhelming, just like last time.", said Jircniv. "What is with my men? Are they scared?"

"No. Well, yes, they are, but they also were served a meal by the Sorcerer King's servants. One single dish was enough to make them look like this.", said Baziwood with a strange look on his face.

"Ainz Ooal Gown is indeed dangerous.", said Jircniv. After this comment, silence filled the carriage as it rode towards the Empire.

 **A/N: Guess it worked out well. It is shorter than I expected (the chapter), but I was able to sneak in a few references. Wonder if you find them.**


	4. Mo' money, mo' problems

**Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord**

 **A/N: And the next chapter...this time, not about eating, what a surprise. This chapter will be long, so maybe I'll split it. It deals with maybe the biggest problems of Ainz Ooal Gown and Nazarick. Fans will know. The prizes I made up may seem a tad strange, but I tried to keep them realistic. Enjoy!**

Ainz looked at the report in his hand.

 _This is not good..._

Ainz sighed. It was always the same problem: he lacked resources. Frankly, he lacked money.

 _Uhm, what should I do? Most things Demiurge stole from the capitol disguised as Jaldabaoth have been thrown in the exchange box. Maybe I should tax them? But that wouldn't be good...but I need money for Nazarick and my kingdom!_

Ainz sighed again.

"Is something wrong, Lord Ainz?", asked Albedo concerned. They were looking through the daily reports.

"N-no.", said Ainz. He mustn't say that he was running low on funds.

 _How can I generate money? Wait, I think there was this one thing we tried...what was it again? Right, the iron ore!_

"Albedo."

"Yes?", asked Albedo with a half-curious, half-joyous expression.

"I need the report on the ore experiment we conducted.", said Ainz.

"As you wish, Lord Ainz."

‑

After half an hour he finally had the report. Ainz started to read while Albedo commented it.

"We bought iron ore from three different locations, three different qualities – high, low and average – and put them in the exchange box. Iron ore is measured in kilogram. We also conducted different experiments with it. These are the final results:

the low quality ore was two silver coins per kilogram. Six kilogram were needed to produce an ingot. The average quality was five silver coins per kilogram, but we only needed four kilograms per ingot. Finally, the high quality was ten silver coins per kilogram, and one would need one two kilograms to produce an ingot."

"Is that so.", said Ainz. "But an ingot would be cheaper to produce from low quality ore, isn't that right? Or are the ingots made in workshops?"

"It is as you say, Lord Ainz. The production of an ingot costs twelve silver coins, but average and high quality would both be twenty silver coins. However, not every blacksmith can melt it into ingots, or rather they can't afford big ovens.", confirmed Albedo.

"I see...so they can melt two kilograms, maybe four, depending on the shop, but they don't have the capacity to produce enough ingots with low quality ore. I guess there are foundries producing ingots?", said Ainz.

"There are."

 _This is interesting. Depending on the results of the exchange box, I may have found a way to earn money._

"Well then, Albedo, tell me about the results and prizes.", said Ainz.

"As you command, Lord Ainz. Please note that the prizes are in this worlds money, not in Yggdrasil currency. Each ingot was worth twenty silver coins when thrown in the exchange box. However, a kilogram ore was prized differently based on quality. When thrown in the exchange box, low quality was worth one silver coins, average was five silver coins and high quality eight silver coins.", said Albedo.

 _Huh? What? That is...not sufficient, isn't it? Although..._

"Hm...that means we should sell low quality ore, average quality can either be sold or thrown in the exchange box and high quality should also be sold?", asked Ainz.

"Yes. We did a few experiments and researched a few other things. First was the production of ingots. Contrary to this world, we don't need charcoal or similar things to melt it. For this reason, we can produce ingots without any costs. When the ingots are used by our smiths to create weapon and armor, the overall prize of materials used and the crafted item is either the same or lower, so production of items and throwing them in the exchange box is not effective.", stated Albedo.

"What about the prizes of the ingots when sold? And the prizes of weapon and armor?", asked Ainz.

"Each ingot can be sold for around twenty-five silver coins. Armor or weapons usually would generate a small bonus of a few silver coins when sold.", said Albedo.

"So we could sell ingots and items, isn't that right? Low quality ore can also be sold. But what about our mines? As far as I know, we only have a few mines in my kingdom, like...three?", said Ainz.

"As expected of Lord Ainz! You know your kingdom and have brilliant insight!", said Albedo with a radiant smile. "On our territory are in fact three mines, two mining iron ore, the other one mining coal. The quality of the iron mined is low in the first, the other has an average quality. The output are both about a ton per month."

 _A ton are 1000kg...that means one mine would generate 2000 silver coins a month, the other one either 5000 silver coins or 6250 silver coins when sold as ingots...wait, the low quality ore sold as ingots would still be around 4200 silver coins! But..._

"Who is mining and how is the market for ingots?", asked Ainz.

"The mining is done by humans. Ingots are sold for twenty-five silver coins at the moment, so it is the same as when thrown in the exchange box.", said Albedo.

 _Humans, eh? That means...wait a moment..._

‑

Ainz had put some thought in it. After all, it was important. But now it was getting complicated. He needed help, at least manpower.

"Albedo, are some of the Elder Liches ready for work?", asked Ainz.

"Yes! I wanted to tell you later, Lord Ainz. We have five Elder Liches that are able to deal with work.", said Albedo with a bow.

"Is that so...then call them. Also, we'll need a map of my kingdom, as well as registers on several things like exports.", commanded Ainz.

 _I hope that I do the right thing...urgh, it got so complicated!_

‑

After an hour everything and everyone was present.

"So, the mines with iron ore are here and here.", said Ainz and pointed at two signs on the map. "That's strange, although those are mines, there are no towns nearby and the road seems to be just a path and not like a good road..."

"So what do we do about it, Lord Ainz?", asked Albedo.

"I want the Elder Liches to look up how many humans are living there, who owns the mines, where the ore is sold and what is in the area, woods, a lake...", said Ainz.

 _Seems like playing these sandbox games certainly brought me a small advantage._

"I have some good ideas about what to do and what is going on there.", said Ainz. After a few minutes the Elder Liches had gathered the information.

"Both mines have roughly fifty workers and their families. The mines were owned by King Ranpossa III., but administered by the mayor of E-Rantel. The ore is sold by a private company belonging to a noble. The surrounding area is a forest.", said one Elder Lich.

"I see now.", said Ainz. "As expected, there was someone grabbing some of the profit. So about fifty workers, their families, a forest..."

"What is so important about the workers, Lord Ainz?", asked Albedo.

"Uhm, I wanted to replace the workers with undead. This way we don't have to pay them and they work 24/7. But we can't just let the workers be unemployed. If they become discontented, we will have a problem. That's why I think that they either build a new road or work in the forest.", said Ainz. He looked at the Liches. "What is our production rate of grain, wood and charcoal?"

"We will look it up immediately, Lord Ainz.", said a Lich.

‑

After twenty minutes the Liches had completed their research. "Our production of charcoal is about ten tons a year, grain production isn't listed properly and we produce around twenty tons of wood. We couldn't determine if this wood is used for construction work and firewood or if the charcoal is included."

"Is that so? Well, then I know what to do. Albedo, are we able to melt ore outside of Nazarick?", said Ainz.

"Certainly, Lord Ainz. We can build a foundry, if you want.", said Albedo with a bow.

"Uhu...then here are my orders: the workers will be replaced with undead. Erect a foundry next to each mine. I want to produce ingots and sell them. The workers will cut down the trees and start farming on the new ground. Also, some undead will fix the path and change it into a real road."

 _I hope I did the right thing...but this way I get at least a whopping 10,000 silver coins a month, if not even more...so when exchanged and all, it should still be a few thousand gold coins, I still don't get the exchange ratio of Yggdrasil currency to this worlds currency._

‑

A month had passed since Ainz had ordered the changes in the mines. Now a report was placed on his desk. He opened it and read it.

"The output of the mines has nearly tripled. Although we don't know how much ore remains in each mine, we will produce steadily. The ore is directly made into ingots and shipped to E-Rantel and outside of the kingdom into the Baharuth Empire. The Kingdom of Re-Estize still demands a toll, so we don't export there. The workers from the mines have cut down the trees, made the space into acres and build houses. The left-over wood was shipped to E-Rantel."

 _I see...so everything is progressing well. I think I outdid myself this time. Still, there are those other ways we earn money...I certainly have to check those businesses next._

 **A/N: Boom. Cliffhanger. Or not, since it was pretty anti-climatic, but that was to be expected, right? I liked this chapter very much, since it's not only a constant and pending issue of Nazarick, but also because the ore gets mentioned in the voice drama (and the LN, if I remember correctly), but you never hear of what the outcome of the experiment was. Well, I guess quite a few chapters try to answer unanswered questions from the series. I will write another chapter about monetary issues, but it will probably shorter than this one (and this one is short – I'm sorry). I also planned at least one chapter for the Lizardmen (request), one or more for Momon and Darkness, and probably one with Cocytus and the Frogmen (mentioned in the LN, but no one knows what happened to them).**

 **Well, that was a long note. See you next time!**


	5. The demons lair

**Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord**

 **A/N: Double update! Ain't I generous? Nah, honestly, I just had a good idea, so I wrote this chapter. Hope you like it. It is set between LN 7 and 9. Although there are a few stories with Momon in it, I thought it would be interesting to write something about his quests. Seriously, there were like five of him in the books, right? Let me see...Nfirea, Zuranon, Honyopenyoko, Jaldabaoth, Giant Basilisk...I think a few other quests are mentioned, but that's basically about it, right? He was working together with the workers, too...well, not important. This one is one of the quests that could have happened in all likelihood, and I think it is a quest suited for him just some good ol' monster-slaying. Enjoy!**

 **A/N edit: Okay, because of a typo (I was tired), Ainz was not riding on Hamsuke, but on Nabe, which is totally unacceptable. He has to ride on Albedo first!**

Ainz was on his way to the Adventurer's Guild. He was riding on Hamsuke, with Narberal riding beside him on a summoned horse. He felt it was time to make another appearance as Momon, the Dark Hero. Only recently he had been awarded with the status of Adamantite. He was now officially one of the highest ranking adventurers in the kingdom of Re-Estize, forming a team with Narberal, or Nabe and – theoretically – Hamsuke.

He was wearing his jet-black full-plate armor with his two greatswords on his back; Narberal was cloaked in her brown traveling cloak and had a sword, changing her appearance from a Battle Maid to the image of Nabe, the Beautiful Princess of the adventuring team Darkness.

"We're here.", said Ainz and got off Hamsuke. Narberal got off her horse.

"This one will wait outside for you.", said Hamsuke. Ainz nodded and entered the guild.

‑

The inside of the guild was the same as ever, but the people inside had changed, or at least their behavior. When he and Narberal first had come to the guild, they thought of him as nothing more than a spoiled, rich noble. When he returned, he had subjugated the Wise King of the Forest – although Ainz still was confused about how the people saw Hamsuke – and defeated an army of undead lead by a magic caster of the evil organization Zuranon. They had looked at him in awe as he jumped several ranks at once.

Then the vampire Honyopenyoko – Shalltear – had appeared, and Ainz defeated her, raising him to Adamantite immediately. After that he had finished several quests and recently he even fought off the demon Jaldabaoth. Long story short, he had become a real hero.

As soon as he had entered, all conversations died down. Adventurers looked at him with awe in their eyes, happy to see the hero who might be the strongest person in the kingdom. Ainz nodded politely but otherwise paid them no heed as he strode towards the counter.

"Greetings.", he said.

"Ah, Momon-sama!", that the receptionist happy. "And Nabe-sama! How may I help you?"

"I'm looking for a quest. Is anything urgent happening right now?", asked Ainz. Although he was famous, he still wanted to gain more respect – and money. Adamantite missions were paid well, and he needed the money.

"We just got a new quest. It is adamantite ranked.", said the receptionist.

"Oh, is that so? What is it about?", asked Ainz interested.

"Apparently they found a demons lair. After the Jaldabaoth everyone is frantically trying to stop him, so the King himself issued this one."

"A demons lair?", asked Ainz.

 _Nothing I couldn't do with Narberal...probably full of low-level demons. I think I should accept it._

"I will do it. Where is it?", said Ainz. The receptionist looked at him with beaming eyes.

"Really? Right, I'll explain everything to you.", she said. Narberal eyed with hatred.

"Tch, acting like that in front of Momon-sa – n...lowly human (maggot).", whispered Narberal, but Ainz signaled her to be quiet.

‑

After twenty minutes every detail had been discussed and Ainz was ready to begin his quest. He looked at the map one last time.

"So the demons lair is here, huh...well, if that isn't right in the middle of nowhere.", said Ainz. He jumped on Hamsuke and left the city. The three of them couldn't simply teleport in the city.

"I think it's a little strange, isn't it, Nabe?", said Ainz, still posing as Momon.

"Why, Momon-san?", asked Narberal.

"Well, the location is in the middle of nowhere. Why would they investigate this area?", said Ainz.

"I don't know. I apologized for my lack of knowledge.", said Narberal and bowed.

"Uhm, no, it's okay.", said Ainz.

 _I hope everything's alright...I still am suspicious._

‑

After an hour of riding they finally could be sure that no human was around. Ainz told Shalltear via Narberal to open a [Gate] to the location, since he couldn't use magic in his armor. When they stepped out of the portal, there was virtually nothing around them; they stood in front of a mountain and the entrance of cave. A distant treeline that was probably the Great Forest of Tob meant they were close to Nazarick, but they couldn't be sure.

"No point in waiting for something to happen. We'll enter.", said Ainz and took one of his swords in his hand. Letting Narberal cast an illumination spell, they walked into the cave.

The cave was nothing special. The entrance was rather narrow, but the ceiling was high. After a few meters it gradually widened, until there was enough room for a cart to pass through.

"You'd think that a demons lair had a lot more of...blood and demons.", said Ainz.

"Maybe it was a false information.", contemplated Narberal.

"Just because we haven't seen skeletons at the doors and burning bodies hanging from poles yet doesn't mean they are not here.", said Ainz, but he was getting suspicious too. Why was no one here?

‑

They walked for five minutes. The cave didn't exactly change in size or shape.

"This cave is really big. We've walked for some minutes and still no end to it.", said Ainz. "It looks all familiar, but it is not an magic illusion creating a loop. It's just a long cave."

 _A really boring long cave. Every level 1 dungeon in Yggdrasil was more interesting._

Suddenly they heard a sound. Ainz couldn't really tell what it was, it seemed similar to a bark.

"Oh? Have we found the demon?", asked Ainz. "I can see a faint light down there."

"Allow me to go first, Lord Ainz.", said Narberal.

 _Does she want to be a meat shield for me? Uwah, their loyalty is really something else!_

"Ahem...no need for that, Narberal.", coughed Ainz.

"But...", protested Narberal. Ainz raised his hand.

"I understand your concern. However, I can survive more damage than you, and we don't know what will await us."

"As you command, Lord Ainz.", said Narberal and bowed down.

‑

They came close enough to see that the light was emitted by torches. After a few steps the cave – or rather passage – made a 90° turn. As soon as Ainz went around the corner, he saw the demon.

"This...this is – !", said Ainz. Hearing this, Narberal rushed around the corner, ready to protect Ainz with his life.

"This is stupid! How is this an adamantite-ranked enemy?", said Ainz furiously, but was calmed down immediately.

What both of them saw was indeed a monster, but it wasn't something Ainz would fear. The demon had the upper body of a man, goat legs, bat wings, horns, claws and a cloth wrapped around his eyes; a stereotypical devil. The creature was known as "Azazel's Servant" in Yggdrasil and was ranked level 45, meaning he was not much stronger than a Death Knight or a Skeletal Dragon.

"Intruders...", said the demon in a raspy voice. "Must...kill..."

"Amazing, I thought he'd be more intelligent.", muttered Ainz. "Seeing that the cave is empty and no invisible creature is lurking around, he is the only one here. Narberal, he is all yours, but please try to not obliterate him."

"As you wish, Lord Ainz.", said Narberal. She seized up the demon; the monster was currently readying a [Fireball] spell.

"[Chain Lightning]!", said Narberal and shot several lightnings at the demon. He cried in pain and stopped chanting his spell, but he survived.

 _This quest is way too easy. Hah, the humans in this world are just too weak. How did they even survive?_

"Tch, he's still alive.", said Narberal. "Again. [Chain Lightning]."

Shooting another lightning at him, the demon staggered around. He was already wounded pretty badly. Narberal just looked at him with disgust and used several other, weaker spells.

‑

"[Lightning]. [Lightning]. [Lightning]. [Lightning]. [Lightning]."

By spamming one of her weakest spells, she made sure to hurt and kill him without roasting him to ashes. After she had repeated this attack several times, the demon collapsed. Narberal went over and looked at his body.

"He was too weak.", she said disgusted.

"I agree. Let's return to E-Rantel, I still have to do things in Nazarick.", said Ainz.

‑

After they took the corpse – as evidence and for registration – they had Shalltear open another [Gate]. They rode towards E-Rantel with the corpse on the back of Hamsuke. People were staring at them as usual, but quite a few glances now were directed towards the corpse of the demon.

They entered the guild with Ainz carrying the corpse. After receiving their reward – which was huge – they simply gave them the corpse, so they could register it as new species. Ainz couldn't help them with the difficulty ranking; he just said that he was weaker than Jaldabaoth and a adamantite team could defeat it.

Finally having finished another job as Dark Hero Momon Ainz returned to Nazarick. He recently had an idea lingering in his head. A bath with all the male guardians...maybe it was worth a try.


	6. A very important dialog

**A/N: So, I was writing a chapter about the lizardmen, when my PC broke. It sucks, but I gotta deal with it. Just recently I had a great idea what to write about now...although it certainly is questionable if a conversation like the following will happen that soon - especially considering the end of volume 11 - but I found the topic too interesting to ignore it. Sooo...enjoy!**

Ainz sat in his office in Nazarick. He had to deal with pressing issues, as usual they were monetary issues. Funding the adventurers would be difficult, the ever increasing costs had reached a point where he had to do consider taxing his people.

"Hah...so tiring...", he sighed. He slumped in his chair. Albedo had just left, and the only remaining people were the Eight Edge Assassins.

He heard a knock at the door. _Who could that be?_

"Enter.", he said. The door opened and Aura strut in.

"Ainz-sama!", she said happily.

"Aura. What brings you to me?", asked Ainz in a benevolent voice. He had become increasingly fond of the twins.

"I wanted to report on the fortress we are building. We are nearly finished.", said Aura.

"Hoh? You're working fast and diligent. I am very pleased with you.", said Ainz. Aura had a beaming smile. Following an instinct, Ainz stood up and walked over to Aura. He began to ruffle through her hair and looked at her with an affectionate smile.

"Eh?", said Aura perplexed.

"Is that not to your liking?", asked Ainz.

"N-no! I like it, really much so!", exclaimed Aura.

"Umu, is that so...", muttered Ainz. In the past weeks his affection towards the twins had increased drastically. "Aura, is Demiurge currently in Nazarick?"

"Yes! As far as I know, he is concluding experiments on his floor.", said Aura.

"Hm...well, this is something I have to do sooner or later. Aura, please send him up here.", said Ainz and walked back to the desk.

A few minutes later Demiurge arrived. He bowed and greeted Ainz. "Ainz-sama, you called for me?"

"I did. Now, Demiurge, what follows is a matter which requires utmost secrecy. It is of such importance that we can't ignore it any longer.", said Ainz, the red dots in his eyes shining bright.

Demiurge shivered in anticipation. "Yes, Ainz-sama."

"Very well. Then, Demiurge, tell me...what do you think of my body?"

"It is the perfect body of the Supreme Being, fitting you perfectly, radiating power and nobility."

"Hahaha, I thought you would say that.", laughed Ainz. "But it isn't. I will explain why."

"Ever since I began working with Aura and Mare on a daily basis, I began to feel affectionate. The more I see them, the more they feel like my own kids. Yes, what I'm talking about is the fact I will need to sire offsprings, providing Nazarick with an heir. As you can see, my body compromises more or less solely of bones. I don't have to tell you that this makes it a rather complicated matter."

Demiurge looked at Ainz with widened eyes. He was surprised, but in a good way. Just like the other guardians, he would love to swear loyalty to Ainz' heir. "Ainz-sama, pardon my question, but have you already decided on the mother of your heir?"

"Huh? Well, there are two persons coming to mind, and the person coming first...it should be obvious.", said Ainz.

"Albedo.", said Demiurge.

"Right. However, if we'd tell her now, chaos would ensure. As soon as I will be able to fulfill this task, I will call her. Well, Shalltear will be next, of course. Nobody is a better mother than my most trusted and beloved guardians. You all truly make me proud.", said Ainz.

"Thank you very much.", said Demiurge with a joyous voice.

"Now then...take Titus. The two of you must not tell a single word to anyone else. I want you to find a way for an Overlord to reproduce on a physical basis. This mission has the highest importance; however, don't let it interfere with your other duties.", said Ainz in his best ruling voice. "You are dismissed."

After Demiurge had left, Ainz sighed heavily.

 _Well, now that this is done, I can relax a little. However, still, what should I do about my missing libido? I am fairly sure that I would love to bed Albedo, but how will I act on it?_

Lost in his thoughts, he came across another problem. _Wait...the twins...I still have not given them a set ed class! Aah, what should I do?!_

 **A/N: Okay, that chapter was really short. Fear not, lads, more is incoming! In fact, typing on my phone really sucks, but I thought of a mini arc I will post over the next two weeks. I'm fairly sure that you'll like it. Til then!**


	7. Zuranon I

**A/N: Welcome to the first part of the mini arc! It was a little complicated to fit it correctly into the canon timeline, but it is between volume 10 and 11. Also, some of you might think that it's not correct, if you have a better solution, please tell me. Enjoy!**

Ainz sat in his office in E-Rantel, going over several reports. He was mentally exhausted, but he could not stop now.

 _Hah, I'd love some change now..._

He sighed. Just as he had finished another record, a maid opened the door.

"Ainz-sama, Ainzach requests an audience. He says it is of utmost importance."

"Ainzach? Well, let him in.", said Ainz.

 _What could the guild master probably want from me? Does he require funding? Have all adventurers left?_

"My humble greetings, Ainz-sama. I thank you for granting me an audience on such short notice.", wheezed Ainzach.

"If you request one so suddenly, something must have happened. What is it?", asked Ainz curiously.

"It's an urgent matter...spies of the kingdom found a hiding place of an organization called Zuranon. A request has been made for an adamantite team to eradicate it.", explained Ainzach.

"So? The Re-Estize kingdom still has Blue Rose and Red Drop. Can't those two teams take on the quest?", asked Ainz a little irritated.

Ainzach wheezed and shook his head. "Unfortunately Red Drop is out on a mission. Blue Rose already said they would take on the quest, but are lacking in strength."

"Hm...still, they could enlist help from other countries. The Empire has three adamantite rated teams.", said Ainz.

"They do, but a member of Blue Rose proposed to enlist another team...", smiled Ainzach wryly.

Ainz sighed. "Let me guess, Evileye requested Darkness?"

"Exactly."

As Ainz heard that, he sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Unfortunately, Momon is stationed in E-Rantel.", said Ainz, just to mutter "But I guess he could take a paid vacation for a few days..."

Ainzach looked hopefully at Ainz.

"Very well. I shall grant Momon the permission to attend this quest. He will return as he wants to protect this town. I will call him over and talk with him about it. He will depart tomorrow."

Ainzach smiled. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

As soon as Ainzach had left, Ainz addressed the maid."Sixth, I will call over Albert and Demiurge. Please ready everything."

"As you wish, Ainz-sama.", said Sixth and bowed.

Ainz activated [Message]. "Albedo."

"Yes, Ainz-sama.", he heard Albedo say in a seductive voice.

"Please comecome see me in my office. Bring Demiurge and Pandora's Actor with you."

"Very well, Ainz-sama."

After a few minutes the three guardians arrived.

"Ainz-sama.", said Albedo and all bowed down.

"Guardians...I've called you to discuss urgent matters. Just now Ainzach requested Momon's help in a quest. What do you think?"

"Ainz-sama is busy with different issues right now.", said Albedo.

"True. But I believe this to be an excellent opportunity to act on.", said Demiurge.

"Hoh, you thought so too, Demiurge?", said Ainz in his most majestic voice. "You never cease to amaze me."

"This humble servant thanks you. But I believe that Ainz-sama is a much more cunning being.", smiled Demiurge.

Actually, I'm not. I just want a break.

If he could still sweat, his robes would be drenched now.

How so?", asked Albedo. Ainz smiled.

"Tell her, Demiurge."

Actually, tell me too.

"As you wish, Ainz-sama. Although Momon risks his life for these lowly humans and fought with Jaldabaoth earlier, there still are many people that oppose him. This way he will gain new favor, and eventually people from the kingdom will travel to E-Rantel."

"You grasped my thoughts perfectly. This is why I will travel to Re-Lantier and accept the quest. Pandora's Actor will pose as Ainz, and if there are any issues, I trust you two to resolve them.", said Ainz. "Now, call Narberal and Hamsuke. Shalltear will open a [Gate] so we can travel."

After an hour Ainz, now dressed as Momon, stepped out of the [Gate], followed by Narberal and Hamsuke; the latter was clad in his newly acquired war gear.

"When we follow this road, we will arrive in Re-Lantier in an hour. Nabe, summon a horse, I will ride on Hamsuke.", said Momon.

"Yes, Momon-sama.", said Nabe.

"Once again, just call me Momon."

"Yes, Momon-sa - n."

"Whatever.", sighed Momon. "Let's go."

They rode alongside until the gates came into view. Lining up in the queue, they waited for entry. As they were adamantite ranked adventurers and exempt from taxes by the King, they entered the city without being searched. Riding through the streets, people stared at them, some amazed, others - especially those that suffered a loss back then - with hatred.

"Ah, the guild. We're here.", said Ainz and got off Hamsuke.

Opening the door, they strut in with a brisk pace. The adventurers looking up began to smile. To them, Momon was a hero, someone who stood at the pinnacle of humanity.

Momon walked to the counter. "We accepted an emergency quest and are to meet up with Blue Rose."

"Ah, yes. Please follow me." The secretary led them to a room in the back. Upon entering they saw five women; Gagaran, the huge fighter, Evileye, their mage, Tia and Tina, the assassins, and lastly Lakyus, the leader.

"Greetings, Blue Rose. I hadn't expected to meet so soon again. Alas, as it was to be expected, the circumstances are not pleasant.", said Momon.

"T-that's not a problem!", blurted Evileye out. Nabe tsked. The both of them had a complicated relationship.

"That aside, it is good to see that you are well. We've heard some pretty nasty rumors. You're serving the Sorcerer King?", said Lakyus.

"Yes. As long as I serve him, he won't hurt the civilians.", said Momon.

"Can he be trusted? He's an undead, after all.", interjected Gagaran.

"Does it really matter? I can't guarantee for their safety with my power alone. It's better this way.", said Momon firmly.

"...true.", admitted Gagaran.

"Now, please brief us on the situation."

Lakyus started to explain.

"For some time now, villagers from frontier settlements have gone missing. We thought it would be the doing of Eight Fingers, but they are too weak after the demon's attack. When the kingdom sent out some investigators, they found a ruin. The place is littered with undead. It has to be the work of a necromancer, and considering what happened in E-Rantel, we are fairly sure that it is a branch of Zuranon."

"Zuranon, eh?", said Momon. "Nasty bunch, yet weak."

Gagaran snorted. "You might say so, but the quest is too hard for us alone. Red Drop isn't available, so Evil - I mean, we, thought of enlisting you."

Momon chuckled. "If such an experienced adventurer like Evileye suggests me, I'd be honored to participate."

A squeal could be heard, but they chose to ignore it.

"When will we leave?", asked Momon.

"As soon as possible, and that should be now."

As they had mounted their horses and left the city, Lakyus spoke up. "So this is the Wise King of the Forest?"

"Indeed. Momon subjugated him.", said Nabe proudly.

"He looks very strong. This armor is excellent, too."

"This one uses magic and martial arts.", piped Hamsuke up.

"Incredible!", exclaimed Evileye. "But if it's someone like Momon, I'm not surprised."

"Of course. Momon is the strongest one there is.", said Nabe.

"You seem pretty confident. The only one of us who ever truly saw you fight was Evileye. After hearing her story, could it be that you're a God-Kin?", asked Lakyus.

"A what?", asked Momon.

"God-Kin are the offspring of the legendary beings called 'Players'. They're said to possess incredible power.", explained Evileye.

"Players, you say...no, I am not a God-Kin.", denied Momon.

"Is that so...well, then you're truly even more intriguing. Also, if someone who stands by your side, is Nabe capable of only 3rd tier magic? It wouldn't surprise me if she'd be even stronger.", continued Lakyus.

"I'm not a magic caster, but she uses up to the third tier.", shrugged Momon. "She is an excellent companion, after all."

They rode another hour in silence, when Tina signaled a halt. "Enemies incoming. Most likely Ogres, around ten of them."

"Ah, that's easy.", said Gagaran.

"I guess it's my time to shine.", chuckled Momon. He got off Hamsuke and drew his swords. He strayed from the path, seeing eleven ogres leaving the forest.

As they noticed him, they raised their clubs and ran towards him. He waited for a few moments.

"Hoh!" With a battle cry, he lunged ahead, cleaving an ogre apart. He was encircled by them. Not paying them a heed, he stepped forward again and decapitated another one. Using the momentum, he spun around and killed the third. He jumped between two others, cutting them both apart as he passed them.

The ogres, scared and angered, roared loudly. Two ran towards him. As soon as they were close enough, he raised his swords and split them in half from head to toe.

The other four ogres turned around, trying to get away. "You won't get away!", yelled Momon.

He threw both of his swords and impaled the ogres closer to the forest. With unbelievable speed he ran towards the corpses, passing the other two. Drawing the swords out of the corpses, he turned around and killed the rest with a furious slash.

The fight was over in mere seconds.

"Incredible!", shouted Evileye happily.

"Indeed, an amazing display of strength.", said Lakyus.

"Please, it was nothing.", said Momon.

"No need to be humble, we would've taken a few minutes more.", said Gagaran.

They rode another half an hour, listening to Evileye praising Momon, when ruins came in sight.

"Now it's our job. We'll find the entrance. We'll be back soon.", said Tia. The twins vanished to scout.

 **A/N: Well well well...I hope you like it. Zuranon, Momon and Blue Rose...this'll be fun! Although I'm experiencing technical difficulties, issues will be fixed as soon as I have a working PC.**

 **Also, I don't know why, but the Overlord fandom is a tight knit and nice bunch. Thanks to all of you!**


	8. Various Shenanigans I

**A/N: Back with a new chapter. The arc is all planned, but hück han ich lauf, so I thought up another chapter. Various shenanigans, different chapters will be based on this one. Enjoy!** The issue of food 

Ainz sat in his room in Nazarick, lost in his thoughts. It had been a day since he arrived in this world and he knew next to nothing about it. One important issue was his new body. Although he could move without a problem, he still didn't know a few things ; the most important was...could he even eat?

 _I just have to try it, there is no other way._

He called one of the 41 homunculi maids.

"Bring me something from the bar. A whisky should be fine."

The maid left and soon returned, carrying a class with an amber liquid. Ainz took it and raised it to his mouth.

 _Let's see..._

He opened his mouth and took a sip. Almost immediately he could hear splashing. The whisky had simply run down and soiled his robes.

"I have a serious problem."

The best book ever

It was a rare occasion. One evening, all female guardians had gathered at the bar. Aura and Shalltear had just returned from the Dwarven Kingdom and were about to tell Albedo about what happened.

"...and that's why I took meticulously notes of everything Ainz-sama said.", finished Shalltear.

"Of everything. She filled a whole book.", said Aura.

"You really went that far? But it is only normal for us to record every word of Ainz-sama. We should even write down his achievements.", said Albedo.

"Like Chronic? That certainly seems like a good idea. That way outsiders will learn about his feats.", pondered Aura.

"I will take notes, too! And then we will give them to Titus, so he can make a book!", exclaimed Albedo.

And thus, the residents of Nazarick wrote the masterpiece 'The black Bible of the words of our Supreme Overlord Ainz Ooal Gown'.

Lottery

"Hm...", hummed Ainz. He had been to this world for nearly a year now, and after comparing the calendar to the Japanese, he realized that tomorrow would be the foundation date of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown. "This calls for a party. [Message]!"

"Yes, Ainz-sama?", he heard Sebas answer.

"Sebas, come to my room. I have important matters to discuss."

"As you wish."

A few minutes later Sebas arrived.

"As a head butler, this is something you have to prepare. Tomorrow is the foundation date of our guild, and I will celebrate with the homunculi maids and the guardians. We will use the throne room. I want you to prepare food. Furthermore, I intend to give out prizes to the guardians and Pleiades. Please tell them to write a reasonable wish on a piece of paper, I will have a drawing."

"Understood, Ainz-sama. I will begin immediately."

Sebas gathered the guardians and told them about the prizes.

"Everyone, Ainz-sama told me to tell you to write a reasonable wish. He will grant it."

With loud chatter and frantic movements the guardians grabbed a scrap of paper and wrote their wishes.

The party had been a success. Although only the 41 maids and Tsuare ate the food, they still had a good time. After the banquet everyone anxiously awaited the drawing.

"Seeing that you've finished eating, I will start with the lottery now.", announced Ainz.

"Eh? Lottery?", asked Albedo.

 _What did you tell them, Sebas?_

"It seems there was a little misunderstanding on my part, Ainz-sama. I beg for your forgiveness.", said Sebas and kneeled down.

"Umu, it's okay. There shouldn't be a problem with that, right?", said Ainz. However, as he saw some of the guardians twitching, he knew there would be a huge problem. "Ahem...I will announce a name, draw the prize and read it out loud. Let's start."

He drew a piece of paper. Judging by Sebas' fidgeting, it was his wish.

" Cocytus. You will be granted...a dress."

 _He probably wanted one for Tsuare...sorry, Cocytus._

"I. Will. Treasure. It. Ainz-sama.", said Cocytus, puffing out an icy breath.

 _Amazing, no one is even snickering. Do they praise me really that much?!_

"Try not to move when I draw your suggestion, everyone.", said Ainz.

 _I know who wants what anyway._

"Sebas, you'll get...a human."

 _Solution._

"Demiurge, you win...new glasses."

 _Yuri Alpha._

"Lupusregina, you win...a new eyepatch. Congratulations."

 _Shizu._

"Entoma, you win...the permission to hit people that are rude to Momon-sa - n?"

 _Narberal!_

"Yuri, you win...the permission to annoy Enri Emmot for a day."

 _Lupusregina! This will be so much trouble, those prizes are either ridiculous or don't even match! And there is more than six left!_

"Narberal, you win...Evileye?"

 _What? Entoma...although I understand you..._

"Whom?", asked Narberal confused.

"You need to fix that habit of yours.", said Yuri.

 _That's right, Narberal can't remember human names._

"Ahem. Let's proceed. Mare, you win...a romantic night with Ainz-sama?!", exploded Ainz. He looked up, just to see Mare blush heavily and tremble Shalltear with tears in her eyes.

 _Okay, this is escalating on a large scale. I'm screwed, but I can't go back. Maybe I can postpone this night..._

Ainz raised a hand. "Let's discuss this later on. Shizu, you win...a new pet."

Silence.

 _Although I want to praise Aura for having a reasonable wish, why Shizu?_

"Solution, you win...weapons."

 _Cocytus, alright._

The slight dissatisfaction on Solutions face displayed her thoughts: 'I can't eat those!'

"Moving on. Pandora's Actor wins...the permission to build something befitting the glory of our cunning leader Ainz-sama?"

 _Demiurge._

"Aura, you win...a date with my beloved Ainz-sama?!"

Now Aura was blushing heavily and Albedo pouted.

"Two left. Shalltear, you win...the leading role in the theater piece we will be performing."

 _Probably Pandora's Actor...still, theater?_

There was one piece of paper left. As Ainz looked up, he saw Mare sniffle.

 _Mare, what did you write down?_ "The only one left is Albedo. You win..."

 _Oh God. This can't be true._

He gulped. "...you win a bath with me."

 **A/N: That certainly was a surprise! It was a little rushed and is on the shorter side, but I had to put this out, pronto. Some of the prizes will be made into chapters. See you soon with the next chapter of the Zuranon arc!**


	9. Zuranon II

**A/N: And I'm back again, with the second chapter of the Zuranon arc! Are you ready for a heated battle? I've got two new scripts finished, so I'll update soon. Today or tomorrow I will post another chapter, short and funny, and soon the last chapter of Momon's fight against the unholy legions of undead. Maybe I'll always alternate between arc and one-shot. Won't promise it, though, since I have no arc planned out yet. Also, the arcs will most likely all be a quest Momon accepts. That said, enjoy!**

After Tia and Tina had come back, they sat down to devise a strategy.

Scratching a few lines into the dirt, Tia explained the situation.

"Our current position is here. The entrance is a few hundred yards from here, it's the slightly hidden arch. Between the entrance and us is a horde of undead, compromised mostly of skeletons and zombies. Although their numbers are in the hundreds, they don't pose a threat. However, we can't be careless. I think that Tina and I will rush to the entrance to make sure it won't close and nobody flees. The rest of us exterminates the undead. Once we're done, we'll enter."

"Hm, that sounds good...the plan calls for speed, doesn't it? We shall proceed with utmost haste.", said Momon.

"I agree. Once we enter the ruins, we can think about taking captives, but first comes the slaughter. Does anyone have their items ready?", said Lakyus.

"Ah, Nabe and I still have to get ready. Excuse for a moment.", said Momon. He leaned to Nabe and whispered in her ear. "We have to be careful. Although we won't be hurt - I think - there is a chance they will. We can't use a potion, except under the most dire circumstances. Understood?"

Nabe nodded.

"We're ready.", said Momon. "Let's head out."

Gagaran, Momon and Lakyus got in a battle stance. As Lakyus nodded, the two assassins rushed towards the entrance unnoticed.

"Go!", shouted Lakyus. The three warriors leaped forward, weapons drawn. They could hear the castings muttered by the two magic casters behind them. Spells exploded amidst the undead, killing tens of them immediately. Bones, gore and rotten flesh sprayed through the air.

"Hoh!"

With a battle cry Momon swung his giant swords, crushing ten skeletons with easy.

"Leave these eternal cherries to me! Kill the zombies!", yelled Gagaran.

"Understood!", yelled Lakyus back. Her demonic sword Kilineyram, as black as the nocturnal sky, slashed through the air, decapitating countless enemies. In front of them spellfire destroyed the masses of foes.

Momon looked around. The numbers of undead had dwindled in an instant. Evil eye's [Crystal Magic] had slain countless skeletons in front of them, while Nabe's [Lighting Magic] had taken care of the zombies. The three warriors had diminished nearly everyone else. Gagaran's war pick was indeed a frightening weapon; it dealt enough bludgeoning damage that she could kill them without the use of martial arts. Lakyus and Momon had killed countless zombies. The numbers of enemies left was not even fifty, and the skirmish had been going on for less than five minutes.

"Let's finish this.", said Evileye casually. With a few spells she exterminated the last undead. Together they strode toward the entrance.

 _I fought quite well. I bet Momon-sama is impressed. Fufufu, I_ am _an adamantite adventurer after all._

Evileye was full of confidence. Her battle performance had been as great as usual, and she even had shown off her skills with her own magic.

 _Since he is well-versed in magic knowledge, he will certainly love my [Crystal Magic]._

Evileye felt herself blushing a little. She was one of the strongest women after all, fit to be his spouse. Yes, she would be the perfect wife to Momon.

Ignoring Evileye's snickering, Nabe, Lakyus, Gagaran and Momon walked toward the entrance with brisk speed. Surely they had been noticed, and without doubt the enemy had prepared for combat.

"The ruins are made up of narrow paths with a few rooms; it seems to be a modified natural cave.", reported Tina. "We can't have more than one vanguard in front of us. Also, it might be a little difficult to give magic support in the hallways."

"Is that so. Then I will be the vanguard.", said Momon. "Any objections?"

Everyone shook their head. "None? Perfect. Could Gagaran-san be the rear guard?"

"Call me Gagaran.", said the giant warrior.

"If you'll call me Momon. Let us depart, we don't have much time."

They entered the cave and saw a small, dark hallway. Although Momon - or rather Ainz - possessed the [Darksight] skill as a racial trait, he most certainly wouldn't as human. Because of this, and because of Blue Rose (with the exception of Evileye), they cast a magical light.

"Indeed, it is narrow...I can only use on of my swords. Ah, but be assured, my fighting power won't diminish.", said Momon. Everyone nodded.

As they proceeded to walk down the hallway, undead came in sight. Most of them were skeletons, with a few higher ranking undead, but none really exceeding a level cap of twenty. In other words, they were manageable for adventurers around silver rank with ease.

"All those mob monsters start to irritate me. If it wasn't for the numbers and the possibility of a strong magic caster later on, this quest isn't fit for an adamantite adventurer.", muttered Gagaran.

"I agree. Ah, but don't get careless. Carelessness is one's greatest enemy.", warned Lakyus.

"I know, I know.", said Gagaran.

"Wait! Can you hear that too?", exclaimed Tia. Tina and Darkness nodded, the other three denying it. "It sounds like a chant. The enemy must be ahead."

"Then get ready to fight some magic casters."

After roughly five minutes of walking, they arrived in a large room with a diameter of around ten meters. In the middle was a magic circle carved into the ground, and seven hooded figures stood in the back, donned in black cloaks. One however wore a golden medallion with a large black gemstone.

"Ayama-Veena, they have arrived.", whispered one of the acolytes.

"Another definite idiot...must be a trait of Zuranon.", muttered Momon.

"Fool!", scolded the man wearing the necklace the acolyte. "And my name is Ayama-Vinna!"

Momon sighed. "Ahh, let's get over with this fast...Nabe, Evileye, we leave those to you."

"[Maximize Magic: Dragon Lightning]."

"[Crystal Shards: Buck Shot]."

Nabe and Evileye simultaneously casted a spell. A blueish flash lightened up the room, and the sound of hard objects piercing flesh could be heard. The corpses of six men laid on the ground, either charred or ripped to pieces; blood and burn marks decorated the wall.

"Tch!", spat Ayama-Veena. He had summoned a bone wall just in time, but his acolytes had died instantaneously. "But you're too late! We have finished our ritual!"

The ground down crumbled and a figure rose.

"Behold, our mightiest summon! A legendary undead! Jack the Ripper!"


	10. Grab the popcorn

**A/N: So here I am with the second chapter today! Just in case you missed it, Zuranon part 2 is online. Although it is short, and so is this piece of "art". I got the idea while re-reading volume 7...the event is mentioned, so it is somewhat canon. Except for the comedic relief. And every time I read the title I can hear Kirito yelling "Grab the crystal, Liz, _grab the crystal!_ ". Enough chit-chat, enjoy! **

Ainz looked at the several big screens floating in the air. He was currently in the throne room and in the process of checking Nazarick's security. He had arranged for the workers to raid his tomb, and now he waited eagerly for what was to happen. They already had searched the buildings aboveground, and except for Parupatra's team they were heading for the underground tomb, specifically the first floor.

As he was looking at the screen showing the entrance with Albedo next to him, the door opened and Demiurge entered.

"Ainz-sama, I arrived.", he said with a respectful bow.

"Demiurge. Come, take a seat and join us.", said Ainz. Although it seemed a bit odd, he had ordered the maids to place a few chairs in the throne room. He could have had this meeting elsewhere, but held it in the throne room for no specific reason.

"Thank you very much. Are those the puny humans who dare to set foot in our domain?", asked Demiurge.

"Umu, that's right. Although I resent the very thought of letting humans like dirty Nazarick, we have to test our security parameters, and what better way than to use those greedy flies."

Ainz, who had become infuriated, was forcefully calmed.

"Ah, forgive me. I just can't stand the thought - alas, it is necessary.", sighed Ainz.

The doors opened again and Cocytus entered.

"Ainz-sama. I. Have. Arrived.", he said, clicking his mandibels.

"Cocytus. It's good to see you. Join us, we have quite the show to watch.", said Ainz. "Although the outcome should be clear, I'd love to see them put up what little resistance they got."

"I. Think. The. Lizardmen. Are. A. Better. Species."

"Umu, that might be true. After all, those people are just here to earn money by taking what is not theirs. They're no more than petty thieves.", said Ainz.

As they fell silent, observing the workers with hateful eyes, they heard to female voices bickering outside. Although they could not make out entire sentences, the words "shrimp" and "fake boobs" were used in a frequent manner, indicating the arrival of...

"Shalltear. Aura. Mare. You have arrived. With this, all the guardians have gathered. Sit down and enjoy the show.", said Ainz, calmed down by his passive skill. Then he raised his hand. "[Message]. Sebas, you may start now."

Only moments after he gave the command, the doors opened again and maids entered, carrying trays with drinks, popcorn and a penguin.

" Eicler?", said Aura astonished.

"It is me, you liege-to-come.", said Eicler proudly while waddling over to the guardians.

"Why is he here?", asked Aura dumbstrucked.

"He will serve the drinks, as well provide a lighter atmosphere. I am sure the mood will change once those inferior creatures proceed with the raid. Also, he is adorable.", said Ainz. It was true, seeing Eicler always lightened his mood. The somewhat clumsy yet incredibly talented penguin was a sight to behold.

He heard another being waddle over to him, but it was accompanied with the sound of rustling clothes.

"Albedo, you are neither a penguin nor a butler."

The waddling stopped. Ainz leant back. "Now, sit back, grab the popcorn - and raise some hell."

They decided to get rid of Parupatra first. Ignoring the other three teams for now, Ainz gave the Pleiades the command to exterminate the workers.

" I sparred with the old man. He wasn't strong. Well, I guess he was strong for a human.", said Ainz. It was obvious why Nazarick's residents considered humans as inferior creatures.

"I-I think that Ainz-sama i-is the strongest person in the world!", said Mare firmly. Albedo smiled.

"Of course, Mare. Everyone pales in comparison to the Supreme Beings and the man I love.", she said with a small blush.

"Is that so?", chuckled Ainz. "I'm very grateful to hear this. Ah, let's see, the Old Guards have risen."

They watched as the workers struggled to fight them, uttering useless words. In the end, they died, without the slightest chance of victory.

"Why. Do. They. Think. Those. Guards. Were. Our. Trump. Card?", asked Cocytus.

"I believe that humans tend to try convince themselves of such foolish things when facing overwhelming power.", smiled Demiurge.

"Isn't that stupid?", asked Aura.

Albedo smiled a sickenly sweet smile. "Of course it is. Humans don't know what real strength is. They will falter in front of it, struggling in vain."

"I don't understand it.", said Aura and grabbed a mouthful of popcorn.

"Seeing that they have failed the test, let's pass on to the next team.", said Ainz. "Let's see...this one should be right."

He pointed at the screen with 'Tenmu'.

"Are they stronger?", asked Aura.

"The human with the sword is known to be a strong human; the elven slaves however are weak. Their equipment is lacking, their will is broken. The man's character is rotten.", explained Ainz.

The guardians nodded.

"Ah, Shalltear, isn't this the path to the training room?", asked Demiurge.

"Huh? Yes.", confirmed Shalltear.

"So Hamsuke will fight them?", said Ainz and cast a [Message] spell, telling his mount that this was an exam.

While waiting for Eruya to arrive, they watched the other two teams. 'Foresight' was doing well - considering the circumstances - but the other group started to struggle.

"Soon they should fall into the first trap...ah, this human has to hurry up, I wanna see them die.", sighed Shalltear.

As if he had heard her, Eruya arrived in the training room. He exchanged a few words with Hamsuke, then the fight started. After a short time, Eruya's bloody corpse laid on the ground and was abused by the slaves.

Closing the screen, they focused their attention on the group with the fully armed leader.

"Doesn't his armor look somewhat similar to Cocytus?", asked Aura innocently.

"Indeed, he looks like a little blue bug. However, you can't compare him to Cocytus. He is not a mere insect, he is an excellent warrior and your fellow guardian.", said Ainz. "But if they survive the next trap, he will meet his brethren."

"His -", started Albedo, but realized what Ainz meant and looked away.

"Yes, he'll be in _his_ room. Oh well. I think this little bug still has some use. He will be a present for Neuronist.", said Ainz.

After they saw the rogue and the vanguard fall into the trap, they changed the screen to the last team, 'Foresight'.

"Those survived for the longest. I will meet them in person...let us go. I think the arena will be an excellent place.", said Ainz.

 **A/N: There you have it. Second chapter. It's not great, but it ain't bad either. I already wrote two scripts based on the Shenanigans, so now I will think of a new arc. To everyone who is hoping for some M rated boning - not here, not now. In the future? Sure. As a separate one-shot. I will mention it in an authors note. I simply don't want to switch the rating of this story to M. See ya.**


	11. Zuranon III

**A/N: Back with the final chapter of the Zuranon arc! After a short skirmish with a lot of undead it is time for fighting the boss. Did anyone get the pun I made? Don't think so. Someone asked me about the strength of Jack the Ripper; it was hard to determine, but he's a mid tier undead, like a Death Knight. Going into detail would be a waste of time, but I estimate his strength to be around lvl 30, making him stronger than a Death Knight, only in raw power. He has less DEF, of course. I still think he can take on a few hundred knights. Thus, he is a formidable opponent for Blue Rose. After this rant, enjoy!**

"Behold, our mightiest summon! Jack the Ripper!"

As the necromancer was shouting, a figure rose from the ground. The monster was a thin humanoid figure with slender limbs, a distorted face and blades for fingers.

 _As I thought, it is a really weak one. No, comparing it to the Death Knight, it probably is a very strong opponent for those humans._

Momon pondered upon this fact, until Lakyus gave him a command. "The magic casters won't be able to fight them properly! Evileye, Nabe, please support us. Tia, Tina and Gagaran, you'll protect them! I will take on this monster. Momon, please take care of the necromancer."

Although he was disapproving of this plan, Momon nodded. If it would go haywire, he could still save them and further spread fame and glory.

"Do you really have the time for idle talks?", said Ayama-Veena. "Jack the Ripper, attack them!"

"Giiiii!" With a loud screech the undead abomination leaped towards Lakyus. He swung down his claws, but Lakyus successfully dodged the blow.

"Shit, I can't use my flying swords here.", she cursed. "I need support magic ASAP!"

"[Protection from negative energy]. [Greater Strength].", chanted Evileye and a greenish light enveloped Lakyus.

"Thanks.", said Lakyus and parried another blow. "Bring it on!"

As Lakyus was struggling with the undead, Momon walked casually toward the necromancer. He held one greatsword in his hand, ready to kill him.

"[Lightning].", chanted the necromancer.

Momon dodged effortlessly and continued to walk. Before the necromancer could ready another spell, Momon jumped forward, discarding his sword. Instead of slashing at his enemy as he landed in front of him, he hit his arms quickly, breaking his bones and thus making it impossible to use his arms or hands.

"Ahhh!", yelled Ayama-Veena, with spit running down his chin. He was in pain and soon fell down to his knees. "My arms! You monster!"

As he was called monster by his opponent, Momon snorted. He looked back and saw Lakyus still fighting with the undead killing machine. She wasn't wounded gravely, but still in a bad shape.

"Damn! Leader!", yelled Gagaran. She looked at Evileye and Nabe. "Can't you give some magic support?"

"Considering this rooms layout, it would be too risky. The only thing left is for Momon to help. Tia and Tina could distract Jack the Ripper, but fighting him might be impossible. And your weapon is a hindrance in this place.", said Evileye and pointed at her war pick.

"Damn it all!", cursed Gagaran. She was about to jump into the fight, despite of what she just heard, when the two assassins moved at an incredible speed. They had to help Lakyus before it was too late.

Although they had moved out quickly, they still were too late. After a flurry of blows, the monster finally was able to land a hit. The scalpel-like blades damaged Lakyus' armor and created large gashes. Blood splurted out.

"Leader!", yelled Blue Rose. The twins stopped their attacks. They took Lakyus' unmoving body and pulled her towards the others.

"We have to stop the bleeding! Give her a potion and use the healing spells!", said Gagaran frantically.

"I don't have the necessary skills.", said Nabe coldly.

"I just know a low tier spell, you perfectly know that, too!", said Evileye to Gagaran. The voices of Blue Rose became more desperate, as Lakyus paled and started to pant. As her breathing became shallow, the four women teared up.

 _I don't have a choice. She needs help. Now._

Momon, who had emerged victorious, grabbed the necromancer and rushed toward the adventurers.

"Take him and secure him!" Momon tossed Ayama-Veena into their midst. Then he grabbed into what seemed to be air. Apart from Nabe and Evileye, everyone looked confused. After a few seconds he brought forth a small flask with a red liquid.

"What...is this?", asked Tina.

"It's a potion.", said Momon calmly.

"Where did you get it?", asked Tina, but Momon just shook his head.

"I doubt we have the time for this.", he said.

"He's right, shrimp.", butted Gagaran in.

"Anyway, you take care of him and your leader. I...will fight." Momon turned around and faced the monster. It had been inactive for a while, a fact that confused and scared Blue Rose.

"Now...bring it on!"

Momon took a stance. He only had one of his swords, but that shouldn't be a problem. However, he wasn't sure how to deal with the undead. Right now, he was still a magic caster, and didn't know if his skills with the sword were sufficient.

Regardless of this, he got ready. "Now...bring it on!"

With a battle cry he ran towards his opponent. Using his speed and strength, he raised his greatsword and brought it down in a mighty swing. The creature, which had been on the offense since the start of the fight, was finally in need to defend itself. Ten small blades blocked a black blade.

"Amazing...", muttered Evileye. She was focusing on the fight, leaving her wounded leader to her comrades.

"Hoh!", yelled Momon and started a series of blows. None landed on the target due to the undead dodging all the time; still, the difference in power was easy to determine. Jack the Ripper had been pushed towards the wall, while Momon was on the offense constantly.

"Abomination...I shall defeat you here and now!", yelled Momon. With a quick strike, he severed one of the arms. Green liquid oozed from the stump. Jack the Ripper screamed in a high-pitched voice.

Momon didn't give him any time to rest and cut his other arm off. Now unable to fight, the abomination just wriggled its torso and let out squeals.

"Perish!", yelled Momon and severed the undead's head with a mighty swing, the blade making a sound as if cutting the air before burying itself and exiting the monsters neck.

"Hoh...he wasn't much of a challenge.", sighed Momon. He turned around and walked to Blue Rose, Nabe and the necromancer. He looked at Lakyus, who was standing upright with no visible wounds. "How are you?"

"I-I'm fine...just what was that potion you gave me?", asked Lakyus bewildered.

"A-ah, the potion...I found it, or something like that.", said Momon insecure.

"You found it, huh...well, if Momon says that, it will be true.", said Evileye. "What about him?"

She pointed at the necromancer.

"Tie him up and then take him to Re-Lantier. I am sure they want to ask him some questions.", said Lakyus. Momon nodded.

"I am fairly sure you can deliver him by yourself. Although it might seem a little early, I'd like to part ways here. The people in E-Rantel have been waiting for me for several days now.", he said.

Blue Rose nodded. "Of course. Stay safe. I hope we'll meet again, next time under better circumstances, though."

After some handshakes and friendly words, Darkness left.

 **Omake**

Blue Rose had returned to the capital a few days ago. They delivered the necromancer to the palace for interrogation, and went to repair their equipment. A few hours ago they had a meeting with the Golden Princess and were now sitting in their usual pub.

Climb had some time to spare and went with them, eager to hear the details of their latest mission.

Evileye, who was equally eager to fill him in, was explaining everything, praising Momon in particular.

"When we departed, he rode on this big monster. It was incredible! And as we were attacked by nearly a dozen ogres, he killed all of them in mere seconds!"

"Unbelievable! Is this the strength of adamantite ranked adventurers?", asked Climb. Gagaran smiled.

"It ain't that easy, cherry boy. Remember the hellish night when we were attacked by Jaldabaoth? We adamantite adventurers fought well, but this man...he stepped into the realm of heroes long ago.", she chuckled.

"Indeed. The way he exterminated all the undead was nothing special, but him slaying the ogres and the last boss? We looked like utter fools. Compared to him, we're copper ranked.", added Lakyus with a bitter smile. "I was mortally wounded, but he saved me with just a potion and casually defeated this monster."

Climb looked at the five female adventurers. If they said so, then Momon was not even human anymore. "I wonder who the real monster is...", he muttered.

"Momon is not a monster!", exclaimed Evileye. She stopped, coughed and proceeded. "He is the embodiment of strength and virtue."

"Ah, well. No matter what we say, it won't change the fact that he is one of the strongest beings known to man. What a shame he serves the Sorcerer King.", sighed Lakyus. "Now, let's focus on the next mission."

 **A/N: There you have it. The Zuranon arc is completed. Next time I will upload something more funny, and after that I will start a new arc. I have enough scripts for at least eight chapters, so I will update the complete January regularly. I guess one to three chapters a week. Maybe even today another one. See ya!**


	12. Poem

**A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone! Well, it's only Christmas eve, but that's the day to gift the ones closest to you, ain't it? I mean family, not readers, of course. Sorry, not sorry. Anyways, I planned a little Christmas special, but the real chapter will be released tomorrow. Today it's just a little poem. It will be integrated into the story properly, for now just think that Lupusregina Beta wrote a poem. It's Nazarick-themed Christmas. Look forward to tomorrow, enjoy!**

Darkest night, silent night

Only the stars shine bright

Illuminating the snow-glistening plains

A white curtain covering the screams of pain

Christmas has come

Preparations are done

Celebrations are on the way

Full of love and full of hate

The halls are decked

The tables are stacked

With presents, and tall stands a tree

Defying the endless trickery

Everyone has gathered here

Hailing our Lord, so dear

The Supreme Being, the Overlord

The Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown

Inside Nazarick they sing and dance

Filled with joy to no ends

The world outside declines

Like a dying candle's flames

The prince has fallen and war had been waged

But humanity only flails like a beast in a cage

Suffering in agony and rage

Waiting to meet their end in a deserted grave

 **A/N: I know, really, really short, but longer chapter tomorrow. This was more like a spoiler. By the way, after Christmas my laptop will be repaired!**


	13. Various Shenanigans II

**A/N: Sooo, I know I didn't post a Christmas chapter, but I will most certainly post it later on. I wasn't sure what to write now, since I have a lot of material. I decided on another collection of Shenanigans, followed up by another arc. Since I finally have this material, I will post an arc and a one shot consecutively. Look forward to that, and now, enjoy!**

‑

 _This takes part in LN vol. 8_

Nemu was excited. Just now, a pretty maid had brought her, her big sister and Nfirea over to the home of Ainz Ooal Gown, savior of their village! And everything was impressive and shiny and beautiful. The maids were beautiful, the cherry blossoms were beautiful, everything was beautiful! And just now Ainz-sama had offered her to show her around, and Nemu had agreed with joy.

"Hmm, where should we begin...", muttered Ainz behind his mask. "I know! Nemu, I will bring you to a very special place. But you can't teleport, huh...well, then. [Message]!"

"Yes, Ainz-sama?", he heard Shalltear say.

"Ah, Shalltear. Open a [Gate] at my location, destination is the arena on the 6th Floor.", said Ainz.

"Yes, Ainz-sama.", said Shalltear. The [Message] spell disconnected and a black oval appered in front of Nemu and Ainz.

"Let's go, Nemu.", said Ainz and stepped into the black void.

‑

As Nemu exited the [Gate], she was met with a surprising sight: she stood in the middle of a huge arena. It was lit by countless magical lights, and its seats were occupied by clay dolls. In front of her was an iron gate, huge enough for the biggest creature to step through. Atop of this gate weren't simple seats, but a huge balcony. Ainz grabbed Nemu's hand and slowly levitated both of them onto the balcony.

"Welcome to the arena on the 6th Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick!", said Ainz majestically.

"Ainz-sama!", they heard someone shout. With utmost haste a dark elf boy ran towards them. He wore a suit with a white vest donned over a red dragon scale armor. "V!"

The boy made a victory sign and grinned.

"Aura.", said Ainz in a gentle manner. "I trust you everything is going well?"

"Yes! Uhm...who is this one next to you?", asked Aura.

"Ah, she's Nemu from Carne village. I'm showing her around.", said Ainz.

"Hello! I'm Nemu!", greeted Nemu happily.

"Ahem." Ainz cleared his non-existent throat. "Look, Nemu. This is the great arena where invaders would fight with Aura and Mare. My friends and I would stand here and observe their fight."

"It's amazing! it's huge and bright!", said Nemu. As a simple village girl she was unfamiliar with expensive magical lights.

"Haha, is that so.", laughed Ainz. "Let's proceed to the forest."

"Forest? But aren't we inside your home?", asked Nemu confused.

"The Supreme Beings made this. Their might is beyond belief!", stated Aura proudly.

 _That's right, we created this...especially Blue Planet-san. He put so much effort into the sky. Ah, since I came to this world, I came to understand why._

Ainz, who had been lost in his thoughts for a short moment, walked forward. After a few minutes they arrived at the forest area. A lake could be seen in the background, and there was a farm where several nymphs and treants worked.

"It's really a real forest! That's so cool!", exclaimed Nemu. She was fascinated by everything she had seen so far.

"This is the farm we use to grow our own vegetables. They are from Nazarick as well as from the outside.", explained Ainz. "I take it that it's successful?"

"Of course! Every plan Ainz-sama puts in motion will work.", said Aura happily.

"Hm, we don't have that much time...I should inform Shalltear that she can open another...no wait, I lifted the teleportation ban. [Gate]." Ainz opened a portal.

‑

When he and Nemu stepped through the portal, they ended up in front of the bar. The bartender, who was a mushroom-man, bowed. "Greetings, Ainz-sama."

"Umu. Nemu, this is one of our special location, the bar. Choose a drink – ah, no. I'll leave it to you.", he said to the bartender. The bartender nodded and began to mix a drink.

The finished product seemed to sparkle. It had different colors, swirling but never mixing, and was neatly decorated. Served in a carved, high stem glass, he gave it to Nemu. She took a mouthful and began to grin.

"What is this? I never had such a delicious drink before!"

"I'm glad you like it. Enjoy it, but don't take too long. There are still a few locations I want to show you."

 _What next? I think the throne room would be a good idea, and after that maybe the Frozen Prison? No, the Throne Room should be sufficient._

"Ah, did you finish your drink?", asked Ainz. Nemu smiled brightly and nodded. Ainz created another [Gate] and stepped through.

‑

They were in a giant room with high ceilings. The walls were painted white with elaborate golden decorations. Chandeliers cast lights in all colors of the rainbow and flags with complicated symbols adorned the walls. A red carpet led to a flight of stairs, where a giant throne, made out of a single, giant crystal, stood tall and mighty.

"This is the Throne Room!", said Ainz and spread his arms. "This is where I meet my guests."

"It's...it's...", Nemu couldn't find the words to describe it, so she settled with the easiest solution. "It's super duper awesome!"

"Hahaha, I'm glad you like the Nazarick I – no, we made.", laughed Ainz.

"You did this all by yourself?", asked Nemu in awe.

"That's right, me and my friends did.", said Ainz, feeling a little bit hollow. He cast the feeling aside and created another [Gate]. "Now, let's see your sister."

 _This shenanigan takes place a few hours after the defeat of Honyopenyoko by Momon_

"Unbelievable." This word was the single expression and emotion Moknach was able to utter and display.

Moknach and his team, Rainbow, had been send to the place where his fellow mythril-ranked adventurer Momon had fought the vampire Honyopenyoko to confirm the result. Just a few days after accepting the quest, Momon and Nabe had returned to the guild in E-Rantel. His armor was dented and scratched everywhere, yet he had survived and defeated the vampire. The second team dispatched however, namely Kralgra, had been eradicated completely, just as Momon had predicted. To confirm the results and before promoting Momon to orichalcum or adamantite.

While he had no doubt that Momon defeated the vampire and deserved his promotion to adamantite, he still had to confirm his success. After a short journey the finally had arrived at the battlefield, confirming the vampire was gone and thus defeated by Momon. What they hadn't expected however was what remained of the land. A huge area of the land was devastated; the ground had been split, trees had been destroyed, waste and rubble had spread everywhere. The most frightening part was in the middle of the battlefield: a lifeless desert.

Moknach and Rainbow found it hard to accept. In the middle of the battlefield to be a small circle, void of any form of life, to exist, this was unbelievable. They couldn't imagine just how the battle must have been, but they weren't surprised that Kralgra had been exterminated. They knew of Momon's exploits, and although they had lingering doubts when he accepted the mission, it was now abundantly clear that Momon was a being that stood at the pinnacle of humanity.

"L-let's return.", stuttered Moknach and swallowed his saliva.

‑

Pluton Ainzach walked in circles in his office. He was eagerly awaiting for Rainbow to arrive. Although he firmly believed Momon defeated Honyopenyoko, it was his duty to confirm it. Since not a piece of the vampire was left that Momon could have brought back with him, he had sent out the team to confirm it. Just as he sat down to calm down a little, the receptionist knocked at his door.

"Ainzach-san, Rainbow has arrived!", she said hastily.

"Send them in!", commanded Ainzach impatiently.

"Y-yes!"

The door opened and the adventurers walked in, a strange look on their faces.

"What is it? Did he defeat the vampire?", asked Ainzach. Moknach just sighed.

"Yes...yes, he did. However – Momon isn't a simple adamantite adventurer. He is far beyond what we thought. I think his promotion to adamantite is laughable. He excels these ranks, he is a true hero."

"What happened?", asked Ainzach, confused and highly interested.

"When we arrived at the battlefield, we couldn't believe what we saw; no, we have trouble believing it right now. A part of the forest was destroyed. Trees, ground...nothing was as it had been before. It must have been a fierce fight.", explained Moknach.

"Well, that was to be expected.", said Ainzach. "So what made you think this way?"

"Although we have no knowledge of what really happened, the was a circle in the middle that was a patch of desert. The ground was sand, and no trace of life was to be seen. It was as if everything there was killed, animals, plants, even the ground itself." Moknach shuddered. "I can't believe someone could survive this. No wonder Kralgra vanished."

"This...this is...unbelievable.", said Ainzach stunned. Moknach chuckled a little.

"That's what we thought, too." He looked out of the window. "Momon, huh...I wonder what he'll do in the future."

 _This shenanigan takes place after the Kingdom handed over E-Rantel and the surrounding territory_

It was a cold winter day. Everyone in Carne Village had gathered at the graveyard to mourn the ones who had fallen in battle with the prince. Their losses weren't too big, thanks to the Goblin Army, still, villagers had died. After recovering the corpses of their villagers and storing them, they had gathered the corpses of the fallen soldiers. The horses were given to the Goblin Army to feast on them, while the corpses had been piled up in a safe distance from the village. The initial plan had been to burn them, but they were lacking firewood. Since the corpses wouldn't rot in this weather, they had set them aside, but still were wary of them, in case they spawned undead.

After the burial ceremonies they started with repairs. The Kingdom's army had damaged the walls greatly, and they had to fix it as soon as possible. Fortunately, they had enough manpower to make it happen. Of course, everyone was grieving, especially those ones who had been attacked by the Slain Theocracy in the past, but they focused on the work that needed to be done.

Enri stood in the village square and was giving out orders, when a goblin ran towards her.

"Ane-san! Unknown people are approaching!", he said.

"Unknown people?", asked Enri confused.

"Yes, a stagecoach, accompanied by riders and the like. They have banners with them, but I don't know whom they belong too.", reported the goblin.

"Could it be...no, it can't, right? Is it the king who came to punish us?", asked Enri afraid.

"I don't know about that, but there are far too few people accompanying the carriage. They should be aware of our army.", said the goblin.

"Well, I suppose I should see for myself.", said Enri and headed for the watchtower. As she finally stood on the platform, the figures were close to the gates already.

"Those are –!", said Enri. She recognized the riders as the creatures Ainz Ooal Gown could control. "Open the gates!"

‑

Moments later the carriage and its guards arrived in the village. Stopping in the middle of it, the banner was thrust high in the sky and a voice said: "His Majesty, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown!"

The door of the carriage opened and out came a woman of unearthly beauty. One could tell she wasn't a human from the horns on her head and the wings at her waist which were too lifelike for a magical item. She held the door open for a person to step through, the savior of their village, Ainz Ooal Gown.

Everyone went down on their knees and lowered their heads. Enri looked up at the figure of the magic caster, once again wearing this mysterious mask. "Welcome, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama."

"Umu. I see this village is being repaired?", he asked.

"You know of the attack?", asked Enri surprised.

"Lupusregina told me about it. But today I am here on different behalf. Everyone, raise your heads!", said Ainz. As told, they looked up to him.

"Some time ago I demanded from the Kingdom that the lands that were once mine would be returned to me. The Baharuth Empire supported my petition and told the Kingdom that if it wouldn't return those lands they would go to war. Your Kingdom chose war. While I was fighting the Royal Army, the Prince attacked you. Now, I have won the battle easily, and thus the Forest of Tob, E-Rantel and the surrounding villages became mine. Today is the day you left the Re-Estize Kingdom and are a part of the Sorcerous Kingdom, lead by Ainz Ooal Gown!"

Cheers erupted from the villagers. Although Carne Village was the only village that had celebrated the change, it was an honest cheer. Given their treatment by the Kingdom and the kindness Ainz had shown them, it was a logical choice.

"Now, as I was arriving, I saw the piles of corpses. I would like to remove them personally.", said Ainz.

"Would you really do that? We're eternally grateful, Your Majesty!", said Enri. It made their situation much easier.

"Umu. Ah, right, before I leave. In my Kingdom there will be equal treatment of all races...although I probably don't have to tell you.", said Ainz, looking at the goblins and ogres. "Then, I will depart. Ah, you haven't seen my face yet, have you? It might be troublesome if others speak of it, so I'll reveal it."

Ainz took off his mask. It revealed his skull and the flickering red dots in his eyes.

 _Hiiiiiih!_

One could see the inhabitants of Carne tremble, but it quickly subsided. This avatar of death wasn't that disturbing; after all, they had seen a fighting Death Knight. Without further words, Ainz entered his stagecoach and rode off.

‑

As they were leaving, Ainz looked at Albedo. "I want you to transfer those corpses to Nazarick. Their equipment will be thrown in the exchange box, and the corpses will be used to feed those who need it."

"I understand.", said Albedo and bowed her head.

 _Hah, that was tiring...but they took it well. My kingdom grew...I hope everything goes well.,_ thought Ainz.


	14. WN: Promotion party and first quest

**A/N: Sup. I'm back. Later than expected, later than I wanted. I was delayed by several things, including myself. But that's all water under several bridges now, because I'm presenting you a longer chapter. Also, it's a different approach than usual, and to be honest, it might not be as accurate as usual, because this time I challenged the web novel. That's right, the web novel. And for all those that don't read it, one major difference is the fact that Narberal plays the role of Momon, Ainz isn't an adventurer but known to the higher-ups early as the mentor of Momon. Pretty nice plot. Anyway, lean back and enjoy!**

It had been a small disturbance when Momon returned from his promotion exam. Rumors were already spreading, and the fact that he was once again called to a meeting only made them more logical.

Narberal, in her disguise as Momon, entered the guild and walked up to the counter.

"I've returned from my promotion exam.", he said.

"Y-yes, the guild master is already waiting for you.", said the secretary.

"On the fourth floor, I take it?", asked Momon and stepped towards the door.

"Yes." The secretary stood up. "Please know that I can't let you pass like that."

Momon nodded. "I'll bear with you."

No hatred was evident in his voice, still it lacked any form of compassion or respect. The secretary ignored it; although adventurers normally were different, this one was a special case to begin with. She opened the door, and with him in tow they walked up to the fourth floor.

"The guild master's office is right in front of you. I will leave you alone now.", said the secretary. Momon simply nodded. It was his second time in the office, and his third meeting with the guild master. He wasn't nervous or even remotely excited. With a calm exterior and interior he knocked.

"Please enter.", said a voice from inside.

Momon stepped inside the room. Pluton Ainzach sat at his desk, looking older than he had before.

"Good morning.", said Momon with a slight bow. Once again, he didn't take off his boorish gauntlets, but Pluton understood the reason for it. Only an idiot would part willingly and easily from equipment of Artifact level.

"Good morning, Momon-san. Please take a seat." Pluton pointed towards the furniture both had sat on last time. "Do you want something to drink? Water? Or maybe something with more...power?"

"No, thank you.", said Momon and shook his head. He sat down after Pluton was seated. "I completed the exam, Ainzach-dono."

"Ah, please call me Pluton. Umu, so I've heard...the guild officially confirmed your success and will promote you. Considering the circumstances of last night, we have decided to take a step never executed before: you will be promoted directly to an A-Class adventurer.", said Pluton.

Momon looked intrigued, but simply nodded.

"I feel honored to receive such a huge promotion, Pluton-dono."

"Ah, think nothing of it...the guild, in collaboration with the mayor, has prepared a little something for you, a celebration, to be exact. It will take place this evening, at the Golden Palace hotel.", said Pluton hastily.

Momon bowed. "I will attend with pleasure. I understand that it isn't a custom to do so. Convey my thanks to the mayor beforehand."

"I will.", assured him Pluton. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to prepare everything for this evening."

Both parted after a handshake, with Momon leaving the guild and Pluton making a few calls.

‑

Momon just returned from the brief meeting with Pluton and walked towards the counter to get his new tag. Incidentally, he walked up to the woman he met the very first time he went into the guild. He vaguely remembered her, but since she hadn't been important, he didn't know her name. He simply received his tag marking him as a A-Class adventurer and left.

"Did you see that? He just went from lowest rank to A-Class!", said the secretary that had led Momon to the guild master to the other woman, Ishpen.

"Of course. That was to be expected, wasn't it?", answered Ishpen as if it'd be the most normal thing in the world.

"Y-you think so?", asked the secretary.

"This man is my fated rival, I expected nothing less from him.", said Ishpen confidently. After a brief moment of confusion her coworker shook her head. She had forgotten about Ishpen's rather strange quirk. Dropping the topic, she focused back on her work. A few new quests had to be put up, after all.

At the same time the adventurers sitting in the guild were discussing the latest news heavily. It was unheard of someone being promoted to A-Class this fast, and considering that Momon appeared only days ago, it left much room for speculation. Sure, his sword looked half decent, but aside from that, he only completed one quest so far, and his job was that of a porter. The only ones apart from the higher-ups who knew more would be Axe of Cyclone, as well as Brita.

"What exactly is he?", asked someone. Another adventurer had already suggested he might be something like a "secret weapon" or the "ace of the guild", but in the end, nobody really knew.

"He was a normal porter. He showed great strength and endurance, but he didn't fight and he said he was a simple man.", explained Peter.

"Hm...I wonder. It seemed like he had at least killed one goblin. I'm not sure, so I can't confirm it, but it is very likely that he did.", said Ninya.

"Killing one goblin isn't a feat.", said an adventurer.

"But he was lying on the ground, and the sword had pierced the body and additionally drawn through the abdomen.", explained Ninya. "As all of you should know, this requires a lot of strength. And the fact that he was completely indifferent after that, even going as far as saying that he didn't kill it, makes me shiver. Momon-san has many secrets, and we shouldn't try to uncover them."

Some men nodded, others disagreed.

"Well, but with whom will he pair up now? He is the only A-Class in this city, after all."

"Maybe he will work alone?"

"No, nobody would. And look at him. He can surely afford some helpers."

"Maybe porters?"

"Seems likely."

The discussion continued in this way. The adventurers did realize that it was for the best to leave Momon alone, and they knew the basics. After half an hour, talks went back to new quests, and several adventurers departed.

‑

Momon was lost in his thoughts. He knew of the meeting that had took place earlier this morning, before he met with Pluton. The guild master and the mayor had met, revising the plan they had for today's evening. Of course, both wanted to know more about Ainz. He recalled their ideas.

 _Making me drunk, luring me in with prostitutes...fools. As if I'd fall for such simple schemes._

The plan would probably work very well on any human. But Momon, especially after receiving a ring to negate poison from Ainz, was no human. And being a woman, Narberal wasn't interested in prostitutes anyway.

 _Better get ready for later. Ainz-sama gave me this ring and some better garments. But before that, a little talk with the shadow demons would be a good idea._

‑

Finally evening had come and Momon arrived at the hotel. The Golden Palace was the most expensive and exclusive hotel in E-Rantel, lavishly decorated and of high standards. Walking in, he was almost immediately greeted by Pluton.

"Momon-san! It is great to see you again.", he said jovially.

"Thank you, Pluton-dono.", said Momon with a bow.

"Here, have a glass." Pluton gave him a silver goblet filled with red wine. Momon took a sip and found it to be of relative high quality; it still paled in comparison to Nazarick's goods and tableware though.

"It's delicious.", Momon simply said. Wearing the ring given to him, he didn't feel any of the alcohol as he was immune to it.

"Ah, look at that. A few persons you know. Momon-san, do you remember Panasolei-dono and Theo-dono?", said Pluton.

"Of course. I'm honored to see that you attended such an insignificant event, Mayor-dono. The same goes for you, master of the mage's guild, Theo-dono.", said Momon with a bow. He already knew who exactly would come to this party, but he still had to act surprised.

"Think nothing of it. It is a rare event to see someone being promoted to A-Class. How could I miss out on that!", said Panasolei.

Momon simply nodded and took another sip of the wine. Looking around, he saw several women clearly distinguishable as prostitutes. Just as promised, he saw everything from "the biggest melons to the flattest plains". He nearly put on a disgusted sneer, but managed to keep an even face. Finishing his glass and taking another, he was quickly in a conversation with the mayor.

"It seems we haven't talked that much yet, Momon-san.", said Panasolei.

"Indeed, Mayor-dono.", confirmed Momon.

"I believe the topic has been your master, Ainz Ooal Gown?", continued Panasolei.

"Ainz Ooal Gown- _sama_.", corrected Momon him.

"Of course. Now, I didn't get some points. Maybe you could explain it a little bit more?", asked Panasolei sneakily.

"I don't think there is much to say about my master you don't already know, Mayor-dono. If you'd excuse me, I have to leave. I need to be in good shape tomorrow."

"Going on a quest?"

"...yes. Good night."

After saying his good byes to everyone, Momon took his leave and set out for the inn.

‑

The next morning he rose early and walked into the guild. Looking for a request, he couldn't find one. He walked up to the counter.

"There are no A-Class requests on the board.", he said to the secretary.

"E-eh? Yes, we didn't have adventurers ranked this high in this city for quite some time. But I could look if we have something similar, at least with an equal level of compensation.", said secretary. Momon nodded and waited for a few minutes.

"Here, this request was issued by Duke Ajack a few days ago. He requests bodyguards for his trip to Re-Lantier.", said the secretary. Momon took a brief look at the leaflet.

"I will do it."

‑

Only a few hours later Momon met the Duke. He was as tall as he was wide, and didn't even reach Momon's chest. His unkempt white hair was only outdone by his ridiculously large beard.

"You are my guard?", he asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Indeed.", confirmed Momon.

"You're only a single person! Why don't you have a team?", asked the Duke. He clearly expected more men to come.

"I'm an A-Class adventurer, and thus stronger than everyone else in the city. They would only slow me down.", said Momon unimpressed. "When will we leave?"

"In two hours. You will accompany the driver.", said the Duke.

‑

The first two nights had been uneventful. The weather was good, and the Duke's stagecoach traveled safely without problems. They always reached a town or an inn and didn't have to sleep outside. On the third day however, they were approached by a band of goblins.

The goblins thought to have found easy prey, but were quickly proven wrong. It took Momon only a mere minute to finish them off. A few slashes with his sword, combined with a few spells eradicated the demihumans.

They continued the journey without problems, and were only two days from Re-Lantier, when all of a sudden the road had been blocked of by several shady looking humans. Obviously, those were bandits.

"Oi, look what we found! A treasure chest on wheels!", said the one who looked the less dirty and dumb – probably the leader.

"Tsk.", spat Momon out. He wasn't fazed by the appearance of the thugs, if anything he was annoyed.

"What do you want, adventurer? Do you want to protect whoever rides this thing?", mocked the leader him.

"I am employed to do so.", said Momon.

"Tell you what: you get down from there, join us and I pay you double.", said the thug. Momon looked as if he'd think. Then he stepped down.

"I've decided.", he said and walked towards them.

"Good, good...", smiled the thug. He relaxed visibly, but as soon as Momon arrived, he drew his sword and attacked. "Fool!"

Momon blocked the sword effortlessly and jumped away, glaring at them. "Yes, I had decided...to kill you all."

His sword still sheathed, Momon prepared a spell. He launched it. "[Fireball]!"

The fireball flew into their midst and leaving back charred bodies. The few that survived the blast either laid on the ground groaning or tried to run away. Everyone who tried to flee was pierced by [Lightning], while the others simply had their throats slit.

"Let's continue.", Momon simply sat as he sat down next to the driver again. The driver slowly nodded and gave the horses the signal to start moving.

‑

After two uneventful days the Duke safely arrived in Re-Lantier and payed Momon the promised fee, with a generous tip included. Momon went to the guild to report the quest as finished. As he stood in front of the doors he sucked in air, not sure of what would await him. "Re-Lantier's adventurers guild..."

He opened the door and strode in.

 **A/N: Boom, cliffhanger! Actually, no. If I should write another WN chapter, I might start from here. Not sure though. See ya soon.**


	15. Headaches of the uncomfortable kind

**A/N: Just a short update...not really anything, but I most likely won't finish anything until after my vacation, so a real update will be around August 8th. Still, one short one shot and a teaser for the next story arc I have planned. Also, volume 13 was awesome, right? Anyway, just a few hundred words, enjoy!**

Ainz sat at his desk in Nazarick, once again going over all the problems he still hadn't solved. There were quite a lot of them, all headache inducing, such as _what the hell was he even doing?!_ He still had no idea what Demiurge had planned, nor had he a real answer to anything, but the guardians saw him as a perfect being. He had to keep up appearances!

Deciding to tackle one problem at a time, he looked at the list of problems. Enemy that controlled Shalltear? No idea. Ruling over an empire? Impossible. Conquering the world? Preposterous. Teaching Aura and Mare about the birds and bees? Doable.

He sighed and felt his next headache coming. It was something that he dreaded, but it had to be done, no way around it. But who could he ask? Doing it himself would be embarrassing and may seem strange. Who had the necessary experience? Shalltear was well versed in such matters, but her...taste was revolting. Demiurge would probably be too graphic (and most likely disturbing), Lupusregina – who had been created as a girl with extensive knowledge but no real experience – would teach the twins something weird. Albedo was a succubus, but her lesson would rather focus on her receiving his offspring, which would neither be helpful nor something he wanted to deal with.

"Wait...", he mumbled. He looked at one of the Eight Edge Assassins. "Get me Yuri Alpha."

‑

A few minutes later the Pleiades Battle Maid had arrived. She bowed before him and waited for him to speak.

"Tell me, Yuri, what do you know about your creator?"

"Yamaiko-sama?", asked Yuri. "She is one of the 41 Supreme Beings."

"Umu...that's right. You resemble her a little. Ah, that's neither here nor there. Yamaiko-san was a teacher."

Yuri, who had blushed at hearing about their resemblance, looked up. "A teacher?"

"That's right. And I need you to teach Aura and Mare something.", said Ainz.

"Teach Aura and Mare? B-but wouldn't Ainz-sama be the best person to teach them?", asked Yuri surprised.

"That might be so under different circumstances, but unfortunately, this matter...well, not _eludes_ me, but it should probably be taught by someone more...relatable."

"O-of course, Ainz-sama! What do you want me to teach them?"

"It is an important and vital matter. Listen up..."

‑

After having dumped the matter on Yuri, Ainz felt marginally better. Of course, he hadn't accounted for what would happen later…

* * *

 **And now for the teaser!**

"It's a mission of utmost importance!", said Ainzach. Momon nodded. "Once again, you will be joined by Blue Rose. It is a combined effort of the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Sorcerous Kingdom. If you don't hurry, no one knows what will happen!

‑

"Momon-sama!", yelled Evileye. "It is great to see you again. I missed you – I mean, I missed your presence – ueeeeeh?!"

Momon chuckled.

 _Damn! He's just too damn cool!_ , thought Evileye, ignoring Gagaran's whistling.

‑

"We think we have found him. He should be hiding around here.", said Lakyus, pointing at a map.

"Hmm...we must be careful. We can't let him endanger civilians.", said Momon.

‑

"Hand over the girl!", yelled Evileye.

‑

"Damn this Ainz Ooal Gown! This will have dire consequences!", shouted King Ranpossa.

 **A/N: Yeah, I know, it's not really anything, but it's more than nothing, so hey. See you all soon!**


	16. AU Chapter I: Arrival and first battles

**A/N: Yay, a new chapter! And a long one, too. I decided to write an AU story that sees another Ainz Ooal Gown member at Momonga's side. Pretty standard so far. I tried to balance the character well and will start the chapter with his character page. Two "jobs" are the classes I play in Grim Dawn (Occultist/Spellblade). This chapter will probably include everything up to Carne Village attack, since we all know the first few days by heart by now, which is also why I'll leave out a lot of stuff. I hope everything will work out; enjoy reading!**

 **Name:** Mirea

 **Title:** The Dull Blade

 **Job:** One of the Almighty 41 Supreme Beings

 **Residence:** Great Tomb of Nazarick, room on Level 9

 **Alignment:** Extreme Evil (Sense of Justice: -500)

 **Racial Level:** Abomination Lv. 15 / Terror Lv. 10 / Eldritch Horror Lv. 5 / Other

 **Job Level:** Occultist Lv. 10 / God Hand Lv. 5 / Spellblade Lv. 10 / Assassin Lv. 5 / False God Lv. 10 / Forgemaster Lv. 10 / Other

 **HP/MP/PhysATK/PhysDEF/AGI/MagATK/MagDEF/Resist/Special:** 70/80/75/60/75/70/60/85/90

 **Lore:** Just like Momonga was saved by Touch Me, Mirea – being hunted down for being a heteromorph – was saved by Momonga and invited to join Ainz Ooal Gown. He reached the final evolution of the Abomination race, the Eldritch Horror. While Eldritch Horror are immune to most mental debuffs, their weaknesses are Holy and Fire attributes. As a race the Eldritch Horror are neither known for physical prowess nor magical power. They do however get bonuses on several abilities.

Occultists specialize in buffs, debuffs and have a small aptitude for summoning. Spellblades are similar to the Assassin class, but rely more on magical attacks. To support his most important skills, Mirea also took the classes Assassin and God Hand. Effective against larger groups of enemies, Mirea is weak compared to other Players and most level 100 creatures. After maxing out Eldritch Horror and the Occultist class, he gained the class False God. False God skills are mostly buffs and debuffs, with only the summoning of another Eldritch Horror as an exclusive Super Tier spell.

When more and more members left the game, Mirea wasn't able to fight with his full strength anymore. He decided to max out his other skills and after reaching level 10 in Smithing he chose the Forgemaster class, a non-combative skill which grants bonuses on weapons and armor crafted. Simultaneously, the Forgemaster class issues a penalty on every other item produced by forging, such as rings or amulets.

Mirea has always remained dedicated to the guild, especially Momonga. He earned several nicknames, the most prominent being "The Dull Blade" for laying down arms and focusing on forging. Behind his and Momonga's back, he was sometimes called "Momonga's Lapdog".

He was involved in the creation of several minor NPCs, but hasn't created a Floor Guardian or high level NPC.

Note: The Job Class "God Hand" is listed as a Job on the official character sheet of Neuronist Painkiller. Since it seemed like something related to torture, I decided to make it a Class focused on debuffs, such as Fear, Bleeding and Paralysis. It supplements Occultist, but lacks a lot of diversity and offensive (damage dealing) abilities.

* * *

Just as Herohero had logged out, a ping echoed through Momonga's HUD, signaling the arrival of another player. A few chairs away from him a being materialized. It bore superficial resemblance to Tabula Smaragdina; a humanoid-ish being with green skin, tentacles descending from the lower half of his face and malicious eyes.

"Momonga-san.", greeted the being.

"Mirea-san! You came!", said Momonga happily, a smiling emoticon appearing above his head.

"Of course, Momonga-san. I would never miss YGGDRASIL's last moments. Alas, I had to stay at work late. I would have come sooner."

"Herohero-san said something similar. Apparently his new job tires him out beyond belief,"

"Herohero-san was here?", asked Mirea surprised.

"Indeed. You just missed him.", said Momonga. He sighed. "Only a few minutes left. What do you want to do?"

"Maybe wait in the throne room? We never really used it, but it is the heart of Nazarick after all.", suggested Mirea.

"Marvelous idea.", agreed Momonga. He looked at the floating staff at the back of the room and hm'd.

"I think you should take it.", said Mirea.

"I don't know.", said Momonga.

"It is the symbol of the Guildmaster, after all. We all worked endlessly just to make it, so at least let us display it once proudly.", argued Mirea.

Momonga nodded. He stood up and grasped the staff. Immediately it was surrounded by a malicious aura, depicting screaming human faces.

"Uwah, we really went overboard on this one.", said Momonga. Mirea chuckled.

"But in the end, it was worth it, right?", he asked. Momonga nodded. They walked towards the door. Outside stood several NPCs, dressed as a butler and maids.

"I still remember Herohero, Coup de Grace and Whitebrim working on all those uniforms. 'Maid clothes are justice', wasn't it?", said Momonga.

"Something like that.", agreed Mirea. Momonga looked at the NPCs.

"[Follow].", he commanded. The group walked towards the throne room. After passing a huge door best described as Gates of Justice, they stood on the soft red carpet and looked at a magnificent throne, set into giant crystals. At the steps of the throne stood a woman with black wings and horns, clad in a white dress. She was holding an ominous looking staff.

"Tabula-san gave Ginnungagap to Albedo?", asked Mirea surprised.

"Seems like it.", nodded Momonga. As they reached the steps of the throne, he turned around to the NPCs. "[Standby]."

The NPC stopped and stood behind Albedo. Momonga and Mirea walked up the steps to the throne and Momonga sat down on it.

"Hah...only once I would have liked to greet intruders here. Alas, it never happened.", sighed Momonga. He looked at Albedo. "What were her settings again?"

"I don't know. She's the strongest NPC. Probably has a tl;dr lore, Tabula-san liked that stuff.", answered Mirea.

Momonga nodded and used the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown to open the command console and her settings. He scrolled through it, until he arrived at the last line.

 _She is also a slut._

"Isn't that what they call 'gap moe'?", asked Mirea. Momonga nodded. "Shall we change it? Although it was his creation, it _is_ a little...well, it doesn't strike me right."

Momonga deleted the last line, but paused instead of closing the console. "It feels empty...let's add something."

"How about 'She is deeply in love with Momonga'?", chuckled Mirea.

"What are you saying! Although, it is an entertaining idea.", said Momonga and typed the suggestion into the console. He closed it and looked at the clock. "Two minutes left. I have to get up early tomorrow. Hah, I don't want to."

"Me neither. Working conditions border on slavery nowadays.", complained Mirea. He looked at the NPCs. "[Kneel]."

The knelt down before the two players. Mirea shrugged his shoulders. "It seemed fitting."

Both looked around in amicable silence, in remembrance of glorious days past.

23:59:30

"It was fun. Let's meet in YGGDRASIL II.", said Momonga.

23:59:42

"Yes. We will make Ainz Ooal Gown a legend once again."

23:59:55

Both players closed their eyes, waiting to be logged out.

23:59:58

23:59:59

00:00:00

00:00:01

00:00:02

As they opened their eyes, they both still saw the throne room. They looked around in confusion, before looking at each other.

"Wh-what happened?", asked Momonga. "Why are we still logged in?!"

"I don't know...maybe the server shutdown was delayed? Or is it YGGDRASIL 2?", answered Mirea. "I'll try to log out."

Trying to open his command console, he failed to do so. As he tried again, Momonga tried several other methods.

"[GM Call]" He waited for a few tense seconds, before looking at Mirea. "The GM Call isn't working either!"

"Is everything alright, Milords?", asked an angelic voice. Both men looked at the origin of the voice – Albedo.

"Albedo?", asked Mirea surprised.

"Yes, Lord Mirea?", said Albedo, looking at him in devotion. Mirea and Momonga looked at her in confusion.

"If the GM Call isn't working, and we can't open the console, what exactly happened?", asked Mirea Momonga.

"I don't know.", said Momonga, when Albedo cut.

"Please excuse me for not knowing what you are talking about, Milords!", she said with a deep bow.

"No, no...", said Momonga, when he smelled a sweet fragrance. He was about to comment on it, when he heard a ping in his head.

" _Momonga, is that you?"_ , he heard Mirea's voice.

" _It is. Is the Message skill still working?"_

" _Yes."_

" _That's great. Do you smell that too?"_

" _Yes, I do...wait, smell? We're in a DMMORPG! There shouldn't be a scent!"_

Mirea and Momonga looked at Albedo, who was still bowing.

" _We need to test what is still possible! Let's try if the NPCs can still follow their orders as usual."_ , suggested Momonga via Message.

"Sebas!", he said. "Exit the Great Tomb of Nazarick and survey our surroundings. Report to us afterwards. Pleiades Battle Maids, you are to guard the entrance from the 8th floor from intruders."

"As you command!" As one, the seven NPCs left the throne room, leaving only Mirea, Momonga and Albedo.

"What do you want me to do, Milords?", she asked. Again, the ping of an incoming Message resounded in Momonga's head. He accepted the call.

" _The next logical step would be trying out an R-18 action. Since she loves you – at least it's in her settings – you're the person best suited for this."_

"I'll be on the 6th floor, in the Colosseum. Please meet me there, Momonga.", said Mirea and teleported out.

* * *

Several minutes later Momonga appeared in the Colosseum, looking at Mirea attacking some straw dolls. In the background stood two small children.

 _Aura and Mare, was it…_ , thought Momonga. He walked towards the three. Mirea stopped his attacks and turned to face him.

"Everything I tried out so far works; inventory, spells, everything. You just have to focus a little.", explained Mirea. "What now?"

"I told the guardians to come here in a few moments. Let me try some spells myself."

Mirea took a few steps back and watched as Momonga performed some low-level spells, finishing with summoning a monster from the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, which was subsequently dispatched by Aura and Mare.

"How can they hurt it? Is friendly fire now in effect?", asked Mirea his skeletal counterpart.

"Ah, yes, it is. I accidentally hurt Albedo with my Negative Touch.", answered Momonga.

"I see...we have to be careful from now on."

Meanwhile, Momonga beckoned for Aura and Mare to step forward.

"You must be exhausted. Here, have a drink." Pulling forth a pitcher with water and a pair of glasses, he gave them to the twins.

"Ueeh?! B-but Lord Momonga, we can't! Someone as unimportant as us should –"

"Nonsense. You are very important to me – no, to us.", said Momonga and Mirea nodded.

After drinking and Momonga stowing the used glasses away, a Gate opened in the air, allowing a beautiful young girl dresses in Victorian era clothing to step through.

"Oya? Am I the first? Not counting the shortstack over here.", said the girl.

"Ah, Shalltear. Yes, you are on time.", said Momonga. He started to ignore the bickering of the two girls and raised a hand to his ear. "[Message]"

" _Yes, Lord Momonga?"_ , he heard Sebas' dignified voice.

" _If you've finished with your observations, please head to the Colosseum with haste."_

" _Yes, Lord Momonga."_

The Message disconnected and Momonga looked at Mirea. "The other guardians should arrive soon. Sebas will explain his findings."

A second later, a deep voice boomed. "Cease. Your. Bickering. You. Stand. Before. The. Supreme. Beings!"

A sheet of ice spread on the floor between Aura and Shalltear, stopping their fight. From the entrance of the Colosseum two figures appeared.

"Cocytus, Demiurge, you came.", said Mirea.

"We. Received. Your. Summons.", said Cocytus.

"We will answer immediately.", said Demiurge.

"As you should.", said Albedo, who had arrived moments ago. "Excluding Victim and Gargantua, all guardians are assembled before you, Milords."

With these words, all the NPCs bowed down. Momonga and Mirea looked them over. "Very well. Sebas should join us soon. He will explain the situation the Great Tomb of Nazarick is in at the moment."

Just a few moments after he spoke, Sebas arrived.

"Milords.", he said with a bow.

"Sebas.", nodded Mirea. "What are your observations?"

"Right. The Great Tomb of Nazarick is surrounded by plains. In a perimeter of roughly a kilometer I wasn't able to find any intelligent life, only small critters.", explained Sebas.

"Plains? Not a swamp?", asked Momonga surprised.

"Yes, Lord Momonga.", confirmed Sebas.

"Hmm...it seems that the Great Tomb of Nazarick has been transported to another place. Very well! Raise our defenses to the maximum! As long as we don't know where we are, we have to play it safe. Alert everybody. As soon as we determine the right actions, Mirea and I will inform you of the next steps.", commanded Momonga. "And lastly, what do you guardians think of us?"

"The kind masters who stayed with us to the end.", proclaimed Aura.

"The Supreme Beings that rule us all, surpassing us and every being that exists, roamed the world or will ever set foot on it.", said Demiurge.

"The Overlord of Death and his faithful companion.", said Mare.

"Our rulers and the most beautiful beings in existence.", added Shalltear.

"The. Strongest. Beings. Fit. To. Command. Us.", huffed Cocytus.

"The beings we swear fealty to, and the man I love.", finished Albedo.

"Hahaha!", laughed Momonga with a regal voice. "Very well! You heard our decrees. Now go!"

With these parting words, Momonga and Mirea teleported to Momonga's quarters.

* * *

"Hah...", sighed Momonga exhausted as soon as they had arrived. "What the hell?! They have totally the wrong expectations of us!"

"To be frank, it's how they were made.", said Mirea.

"Yes, but still!" Before he could start a rant, Momonga's emotions were forcefully repressed by his undead nature. "What do we do now?"

"We know that our combat skills work as usual, and the NPCs are loyal to us. However, we still lack information on all the other skills, Nazarick's defenses and we know nothing about this world. I suggest that I try forging some stuff. You should assess all other information about Nazarick; you _are_ the guild master, after all. After that we should concentrate our information gathering on the outside world."

"Umu...good idea.", agreed Momonga. "I'll try out some game mechanics, you start on crafting and stuff. I will tell Albedo to report everything to me. Then I should start checking our surroundings."

"Do you still own a Mirror of Remote Viewing?", asked Mirea.

"Of course. Send me a message as soon as you are done."

"Will do." With these words Mirea left for his rooms, with the adjacent forge.

* * *

When Mirea entered the forge, he took a good look around. Everything seemed to be like he had left it; the fire was burning, the tools were lined up properly, and a mass of ingots laid next to the forge. Several anvils stood next to the fire, and a few golems with hammers in their hands stood at the ready. Changing his battle gear for some clothes that provided boni to forging, he placed an iron ingot in the flames.

"I should start low and work up to elemental and prismatic metals. Who knows what could happen.", said Mirea to himself. After the ingot had reached a bright orange color, he took it out of the flames with a pair of tongs and started hammering away. Slowly flattening it, before folding and welding it together. Putting it back into the hearth until it regained its color, he repeated the steps, until he was left with a blade. Deciding to forego on finishing it – he had no interest in crafting hilt, sheath and polishing and sharpening, as it was just an experiment – he moved on to the next metal. Repeating this process over and over, he realized that he had spent over a day in his workshop.

 _Must be a trait of my race. I feel neither exhaustion nor hunger._

Looking at the blades, he saw that they had the usual quality, although the forging wasn't as instantaneous as it had been in YGGDRASIL. It was an interesting development which he had to take into account from now on. He decided to call Momonga to compare their findings.

"[Message]"

" _Momonga? Is that you?"_

" _Yes. How are things on your side?"_

" _Apparently I can still forge everything as before, no matter the material. However, it takes time. Aside from that, no problems popped up."_

" _Very well. I just visited Mare. He was hiding the Tomb with earth and is starting to make dummy hills. It should work out just alright. I also found out that I can't equip items from other classes; if I create them myself with a skill, I can do so."_

" _So you can use swords now?"_

" _Yes. It might be important in the future. I'm meeting up with Sebas now to survey our surroundings with the Mirror."_

" _Please tell me if you find anything important."_

" _Of course. Then, I'll be off."_

Momonga ended the connection. Mirea let out a breath he'd been holding. Gargantua hadn't activated, everything was working as normal and they were in relative safety for now. All they had to do was to find out more about the world they were transported to, such as the strength of individuals. He took a look around. Putting the forged blades aside, he decided to finish them one by one. He just started polishing and sharpening the iron blade, when he heard the ping of an incoming message.

" _Mirea!"_

" _Momonga? What is happening?"_

" _I've found humans via the Mirror of Remote Viewing! A few knights are attacking a village near us. I've ordered Albedo to dress up and join me. Please open a Gate to my position as soon as you can."_

" _Understood. I will be there as soon as possible."_

Mirea switched to his battle equipment and opened a Gate to Momonga's position, readying himself for a fight.

* * *

As he exited the portal, he saw Momonga use the spell [Grasp Heart] on one of the knights, who collapsed in a dead heap. They wore full armor with blue clothing. Behind Momonga were two girls, one in her teens and the other around ten years old. The older one was cradling the small child and bleeding heavily from a wound on her back.

"I see you already started.", said Mirea.

"Umu...yes. I am glad to see that one of my favorite skills is still working.", said Momonga. They turned to the other knight.

"Y-you monsters!", the knight yelled, shaking in his boots. He turned to run.

"Hmpf. Slaughtering innocent civilians but running away as soon as you meet a worthy enemy. Pathetic!", yelled Mirea. He activated a skill. "[Phantasmal Blades]!"

Mirea hurled a conjured blade at the fleeing knight. It pierced his body and the knight fell down like a puppet with its strings cut, blood pooling beneath him.

"Dying from a mere Tier 4 skill, how disappointing.", huffed Mirea. "These knights are too weak. They don't even surpass a level 15 monster."

"Yes.", said Momonga. He raised his hand and cast a spell. "[Create Mid Tier Undead – Death Knight]"

A black ooze enveloped one of the corpses, changing it to the hulking figure of an undead.

"Death Knight! Kill the knights attacking the village!", commanded Momonga. The Death Knight roared, turned around and ran towards the village. "Eh? Why is he running?"

"Apparently summoned monsters work a little differently here.", sighed Mirea. He turned around just as Albedo exited the Gate, armed in full plate armor and holding a bardiche. He looked at the girls. "What about them?"

Momonga bowed down and handed the older one a potion from his inventory. "Drink this."

"I will! But please, don't hurt my sister!", pleaded the girl.

"Eh?", asked Momonga confused. As the girls struggled with each other, thinking the potion may be poison, Mirea realized their mistake.

"Ah, it's a potion. Please don't worry.", he said, hoping to appear as non-threatening as he could – which wasn't much, considering he was looking like a being from the abyss (he technically even was one).

"You dare! Refusing something given to you by the Supreme Beings!", raged Albedo, raising her bardiche.

"Don't kill them!", yelled Momonga. He then looked at the girls. The older one had drunk the potion and awed at the immediate effect. "Do you two know what a Magic Caster is?"

The older girl nodded. "Yes. A friend of mine, an alchemist, sometimes visits the village. He can use magic too."

"Good. I myself am a Magic Caster, and my friend is...an assassin, of sorts. We noticed your plight and came to help." He handed the girl two items. "These should help you if someone comes to attack you. Let me cast a few spells to protect you. [Anti-Life Cocoon]. [Wall of Protection from Arrows]."

Two magic circles enveloped the girls. Momonga, Mirea and Albedo turned around and started to walk towards the village.

"Please wait!", yelled the older girl. "We thank you from the depth of our hearts for saving us! Please, tell us, what are your names?"

Mirea answered before anyone else could. "I am Mirea, and this one...this one is called Ainz Ooal Gown."

* * *

"Why did you tell them my name was Ainz Ooal Gown?", asked Momonga – or Ainz, to be precise – Mirea.

"Two reasons: firstly, it is to further our names. Ainz Ooal Gown was known far and wide in YGGDRASIL. If anyone else arrived here, they will logically seek us out. Also, you really are Ainz Ooal Gown. You are the embodiment of our guild. You're not simply our master, you brought everyone together, you stayed behind, and you kept everything going.", explained Mirea, with Albedo nodding.

"So did you. You did never leave Ainz Ooal Gown.", said Ainz. Mirea shook his head.

"No. I never did leave _you_. I probably would have left too, if it wasn't for you.", he freely admitted. "Without Momonga, no, without Ainz, guild wouldn't be what it was – and is."

Ainz thought about it. "Maybe you're right. Anyway, we should disguise ourselves. It seems that heteromorphic beings aren't as common here as in YGGDRASIL, or at least they're feared."

He pulled out iron gloves and a strange looking mask to hide his skeletal features. Mirea activated one of his Assassin class skills to transform into a human; it was an illusion-type skill, and although it wouldn't be seen through, it had the drawback of taking some of his features. Thus, his face looked strange to a point that it was off-setting.

"Close enough.", said Ainz. "Let's see what has happened so far."

All three took to the air to survey the battle from above. Looking down on the village, they saw that the Death Knight had completely decimated the opposition. Only a few knights remained, so they decided to intervene.

"Death Knight! That is enough!", commanded Ainz in a powerful voice. The three slowly descended from the sky, making for an impressing picture; a woman in black plate armor, a man in an expensive gown with a menacing – to the villagers and knights at least – mask and a man in light armor, armed with blades and a face that was just wrong.

"Greetings. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. Go and tell your master this: attack this place again and we will raze your country to the ground! Now, if you drop arms, I might spare you."

The knights, shaking in fear, dropped their swords and ran from the village. Ainz, Mirea and Albedo touched the ground and turned towards the villagers who were still cowering in terror.

 _Why are they still afraid?_ , thought Ainz. _Maybe they expect me to demand compensation?_

"Thank you! Thank you for saving us!", yelled the villagers.

"Umu. It was nothing. However, I expect to be rewarded accordingly. Does this village have a chief?", said Ainz. A middle-aged man stepped forward.

"T-that's me.", he stuttered.

"Good. Is there a place where we can talk undisturbed?", asked Ainz.

"My house should be sufficient.", said the chief and led them to a house that seemed undamaged. The inside was as expected from a rather poor farming village. Rickety furniture, an earthen floor and only a second room.

Albedo took vigil outside the house and the other three entered. After sitting down, the village chief started to explain. "Thank you so much for saving us. We will do everything in our power to pay you, but as a farming village, we unfortunately have much to offer."

"That's alright. Money isn't an issue. However, as we have been gone from this world for a long time, we need information. Where is this place? Do you maybe have a map?"

"I do.", said the chief and pulled a rough map from a shelf. "We are in Carne village in the Re-Estize kingdom. We are close to the borders of the Slane Theocracy and the Baharuth Empire. The next big city would be E-Rantel, which is around two days by wagon and three or four by feet."

"Alright.", said Mirea. He then pulled out a gold coin from YGGDRASIL. "Are you by chance familiar with this currency?"

"No, I have never seen it before.", said the chief. He grabbed a rather primitive scale and put weights on it. "It is double the weight of a normal gold coin though."

Mirea and Ainz nodded. They had just started to ask another few questions, when a villager hurriedly entered.

"Chief! A group of riders is nearing the village!", he yelled. The chief hopefully looked at Ainz and Mirea.

"Let's meet them at the village square.", said Ainz. The chief looked relieved that Ainz would protect them once more, if push came to shove.

Soon the riders had arrived. They were a bunch of lightly armored, but heavily armed warriors, wearing red clothing. One of them, the most muscular, rode towards the chief.

"I am Gazef Stronoff, the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize kingdom! I have come to investigate the attacks on the villages! Who might you be?", he asked in a baritone voice.

"Ah, I'm the chief of the village, and this is –"

"I am Ainz Ooal Gown. These are my companions Mirea and Albedo.", said Ainz. "I am a Magic Caster who saved the village."

"Many thanks. Are you by chance in control of this undead over there?", asked Gazef and pointed at the Death Knight, who stood unmoving in the square.

"That's right. This Death Knight is under my control. I used it to defeat the knights.", explained Ainz.

"Thank you. Now, please tell me what happened.", said Gazef. As the chief began explaining, a soldier stepped towards them.

"Captain! The village is being surrounded by an unknown force!", he said.

"What?", asked Gazef. "Chief, is there a place where the villagers can hide?"

"Yes, we do have a store house that survived the attack."

"Gown-dono, if I may be so presumptuous, would you once again protect the villagers?", asked Gazef.

"Of course."

After everyone had hid in the store house, Gazef looked at Ainz. "Is there any way I could pay you to participate?"

"No.", stated Ainz.

"And if I tried to use the conscription law –"

"I would have to resist accordingly."

Gazef simply smiled. "I guessed as much. Still, thank you for protecting the villagers."

As he turned to leave, Ainz spoke up. "Wait. It's dangerous out there. Take this."

He handed Gazef a statuette. Gazef looked it over.

"Thank you. I guess coming from you it is something very helpful." He put the figurine away and mounted his horse, riding towards the enemy.

* * *

The three watched the fight from afar. After most of Gazef's men had fallen and the Warrior-Captain himself had been heavily injured, Ainz decided to activate the item. Switching positions with the soldiers from the kingdom, they stood in front of the Magic Casters and the angels.

"And who might you be?", sneered the man without a hood, most likely the leader.

"Greetings. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, and I am quite enraged. Hearing you blab on about killing the villagers that I went out of my way to save...you really have a lot of balls.", said Ainz.

"Hah! The empty talk of a fool. Angels, kill him.", commanded Nigun. Two angels flew towards Ainz and stabbed him. "A weakling, after all. All bark and no bite."

As soon as he spoke those words, Nigun's eyes widened. The two figures next to Ainz hadn't moved and Ainz himself was laughing. He grabbed the angels by the head and they started struggling. Their swords fizzled out and Ainz pushed them to the ground, destroying them in a shower of lights.

"High Tiered Physical Nullification. Attacks below level 60 won't hurt. Now, as I thought, those are Archangel Flames from YGGDRASIL. Who taught you this magic?"

Seeing Ainz completely unharmed, Nigun started to panic. "Angels! Attack him!"

A swarm of dozens of angels descended on Ainz, but before they could reach them, they disappeared.

"[Amarasta's Blade Burst]"

Mirea had slashed his swords and dozens of ethereal blades had destroyed every single angel. "Those weak monsters aren't even allowed to touch Lord Ainz!"

"Lord _Ainz?"_ , asked Ainz via Message. _"Isn't that a bit much, coming from you? We are equals, you know?"_

" _You_ are _the guild master, and as such I will show you the respect you deserve."_ , insisted Mirea.

"Im-impossible!", yelled Nigun. He turned towards his summon, a bigger angel. "Prinicipality of Observation! Attack!"

The angel floated towards Ainz and raised his mace. Bringing it down, he tried to kill Ainz; however, he simply stopped the mace with one hand.

"Such a summon can't hurt me. I guess I will fight back. [Hell Flame]."

A small flame traveled from Ainz' index finger to the angel. At contact, it enveloped the Principality of Observation in a black and red inferno, destroying it instantly.

"Now, offer yourselves to me without resistance, and you shall die a swift and painless death.", said Ainz.

The Magic Casters were in disarray. They raised their arms and started to cast spells, trying to kill Ainz.

"[Poison]" "[Shockwave]" "[Magic Arrow]" "[Acid Javelin]"

A barrage of spells hit Ainz, only to fizzle out against his superior defenses.

"Even more YGGDRASIL magic!", exclaimed Mirea. "Who taught you this magic?"

The Magic Casters didn't stop the onslaught, but seeing the futility one took out a slingshot. He fired a projectile, but Albedo jumped in front of Ainz and blocked it. It returned and blew off the head of the attacker.

"Albedo, you should know such a weak attack can't harm me.", admonished Ainz.

"Ah, but Lord Ainz, such lowly beings aren't allowed to touch you.", responded Albedo. Ainz chuckled.

"Well, that may be so. Now, was that all?"

"I-impossible! What kind of monster are you?!", yelled Nigun. Desperate to survive, he pulled out his final trump card. "Behold! The strongest angel man can summon!"

"This is a magic sealing crystal! It can seal everything except for super tier magic!", exclaimed Mirea.

"Albedo! Protect us!", commanded Ainz. Albedo jumped in front of the two Players.

"Now, come forth! Dominion Authority!", yelled Nigun. In a shower of light a giant angel appeared, holding a mace in his hands. "Feast your eyes on a miracle! An angel capable of using 7th tier magic, capable of slaying demons! Dominion Authority!"

"Uwoh!", yelled the men in awe and relief.

"What are you going to do now?", asked Nigun smugly. Ainz held his face in one hand while Mirea just looked flabbergasted.

"...stupid.", murmured Ainz.

"Huh?", asked Nigun confused.

"I was on guard against such a summon? Dominion Authority? Don't make me laugh!", yelled Ainz.

"W-what?", asked Nigun, confused at Ainz' lack of fear. "Dominion Authority! Use [Holy Smite]!"

The mace broke down in pieces, orbiting the angel before shooting down from the heavens as a ray of light, swallowing the three beings.

"Tch, in the end he was just bragging.", said Nigun in relief, when he suddenly heard a laugh.

"Hahaha! Marvelous! So this is damage, this is what pain feels like!" Ainz' full blown laughter could be heard across the battlefield.

"Wh-what...that's impossible...nobody can survive 7th tier magic!", yelled Nigun. Before Ainz could answer, Albedo's voice screeched in rage.

"You-you traaaaaaash! How dare you! To hurt the Supreme Beings! Lower lifeforms such like humans have no right to touch them! You will die a thousand deaths for your insolence!"

"Albedo!", said Ainz. "Don't bother with those humans. They don't know their place."

"But Lord Ainz –"

"It is as he says, Albedo.", cut Mirea in. "Humans can't comprehend the power of Nazarick."

Ainz chuckled. "That may be so. Now, know despair! [Black Hole]!"

With a single spell he eliminated the angel. Panic spread throughout the Magic Casters. They were yelling and were trying to flee.

"Sir, no, Lord Gown! Please let us, no, me live! I will give you all you want! Money! Power!", yelled Nigun in desperation.

"Didn't Lord Ainz say it? Offer no resistance and you will die a swift death. Ah, it doesn't matter in the end. Lower lifeforms like humans should lower their heads and be graceful when their lives are taken by a Supreme Being.", said Albedo in a dulcet voice.

"Lower...life...forms...", stuttered Nigun. Before he could continue, a crack split the sky.

"Ah, the countermeasure against magical surveillance activated.", said Ainz. "Now, back to you. Thank you for being such useful test subjects."

* * *

When the three returned to the village, the enemies were nowhere to be seen. An injured, but conscious Gazef greeted them. "Did you defeat them?"

"...we chased them off.", said Ainz. Gazef knew that this wasn't exactly true, and Ainz knew that Gazef knew, but the matter went unsaid.

"Many thanks. If you should ever visit the royal capital, ask for me. I will make your stay as comfortable as possible.", smiled Gazef.

"I will do so, thank you.", nodded Ainz. "It's unfortunate, but we will have to take our leave now. I'm sure we will meet again."

With these words, the three left the village. After walking a few minutes, they opened a Gate and left for Nazarick. Ainz and Mirea walked towards the throne room.

"Albedo, tell everyone to assemble in the throne room. I have an announcement to make."

After a quarter of an hour the floor and are guardians had assembled, kneeling before the throne. Ainz sat on it, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in his hand. On his right stood Mirea.

"Listen up!", yelled Mirea. Instantly everyone looked at Ainz.

"From now on, things will change.", said Ainz. He pointed at the flag with the symbol of Momonga. "[Greater Break Item]"

In a flame, the flag was changed to the flag of Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Inhabitants of Nazarick! This day marks a new beginning! My name shall be Ainz Ooal Gown! And we have but one goal: to spread the name of Nazarick as far as possible!"

A mighty roar echoed the throne room as every NPC celebrated the birth of their new ruler.

"Ainz Ooal Gown banzai!", they cheered continuously.

"We have heard your decree!", said Albedo. "Now, everyone, swear your fealty once again!"

"We pledge our beings, our souls and hears to Ainz Ooal Gown and the Supreme Beings!", every NPC yelled.

"Glory to Ainz Ooal Gown!", said Mirea.

"Glory to Ainz Ooal Gown!", echoed the NPCs.

"Hahaha!", chuckled Ainz. "I will retreat to my chambers for now. Demiurge, Albedo, Mirea, I expect you tomorrow."

With those words, he left. Mirea looked at Demiurge. "You said you had an announcement to make, Demiurge?"

"Yes, Lord Mirea.", said Demiurge with a bow and turned towards the other NPCs. "When I was talking with Lord Ainz earlier, he looked at the night sky. 'It's like a box of jewels', he said. 'We should adorn Nazarick with this jewels. Yes, world domination might be interesting.' From now on, this is our goal! To lay down this box of jewels in front of Lord Ainz and the Supreme Beings!"

Everyone stared at Demiurge in awe – or slight confusion, in Mirea's case. Everyone baited their breaths, only to roar in agreement.

 _Oh Momonga, you don't know what you started...well, whatever. I will support you, no matter what!_

 **A/N: Oh boy, roughly 6k words! I think that might be the longest chapter I've ever written! I am proud of this story. Okay, Mirea is nearly as devoted to Ainz as any other NPC, but I kind of like that. He will still think for himself; he will offer more insight to Ainz' plans and all that stuff. I will follow the main story line, but most times the perspective will be Mirea's. I won't just let him do the same stuff as Ainz, that would be slightly boring. Next chapter is either the start of the new arc or the second chapter of this AU...don't really know it yet.**

 **P.S.: Mirea's name is the name of one of Vlad Tepes' relatives...or so I thought. When I looked it up, it turned out I remembered it wrong. It is the mixture of the name of his son and his grandson though, and I was too lazy to correct it, so I left it as is.**


	17. AU Chapter II: First steps

**A/N: And back again! I decided to continue with the second chapter of my AU because I have a streak of inspiration (but I should work on the storyline first...meh; it will work out), and this chapter marks the first big diversion from the normal Overlord story; in other words, the focus will shift towards Mirea.**

 **We're nearing 50k total views, which makes me kinda proud. Other authors do specials for milestones, like writing an omake. I thought of that too, but then I realized that a compilation of one shots doesn't really need those. So, I decided to take a leaf out of someone elses book (namely The Carnivorous Muffin, who probably is one of the best authors on this website) and every hundredth reviewer can make a request for the next chapter (preferably no crossovers, though – my knowledge of anime and stuff is limited). I will write an omake for every hundredth follow of my story "Ragamuffins and Reapers", but that's neither here nor there.**

 **Also, since we reached a hundred just recently, I will pick up the idea of a reviewer by the name of Bicorn. He/she suggested I continue writing the Web Novel once it's finished, and I was like "Hey, why not". So once frostfire has finished translating it, I'll start with that. Look forward to it!**

 **Anyway, I will work on the first chapter of the new arc and at least a chapter to another story simultaneously to this chapter, so there will updates soon, and everyone who prefers my usual stuff can rest assured. I think I can manage one chapter per week now, although I don't know if I can keep that up for one or just multiple stories.**

 **Enough of all those talk – which you probably skipped, but it wasn't really important anyway – and on to the second chapter!**

After the announcement in the throne room, Mirea returned to his workshop, intent to finishing his new blades. He kept the designs simple; since every sword was a sax (A/N: famous sword of the Germanic Saxon tribes) the hilts were long, with a relative short blade. He made the hilts out of polished wood and the sheaths were simple leather. He wrought golden wire around the hilts and made some decorative stitches to the leather. Not wanting to let them be that plain, he decided to imbue every sword with weak data crystals. His work was supposed to be perfect, but since he hadn't spent a lot of resources on each blade, he didn't want to waste any good data crystals on them. Adding a little etching to gleaming blades, he looked at an assortment of roughly two dozen finished swords. Stowing them away in his inventory, he looked at the clock.

 _Ah, it's morning already...right now it should be time to visit Momonga._

He used the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown to teleport to the door to Ainz' suite.

"Is Lord Ainz available?", he asked the maid in front of it.

"Yes, Lord Mirea.", nodded the maid. She knocked on the door which was subsequently opened by Yuri Alpha.

"Lord Mirea!", she exclaimed and bowed.

"I came to meet with Lord Ainz. Is he ready to receive me?", he asked.

"Yes. Albedo and Demiurge just arrived.", said Yuri. Mirea nodded and entered. Ainz sat behind a large desk, with Albedo and Demiurge standing before him.

"Mirea, you arrived. We were just about to discuss our next course of action.", said Ainz.

"Is that so. Then, what have you thought of?", asked Mirea.

"Umu...well, we still lack a lot of information about this world. Talking to the village chief was enlightening and the captured members of the Sunlight Scripture – the Magic Casters from yesterday – provided us with lots of other information on the Slane Theocracy, but it's just a morsel of what we should know.", explained Ainz. "Therefore, we need to send someone out of Nazarick. Of course, we can't send anyone that looks not like a human."

"That seems about right.", agreed Mirea. "Have you thought about who you will send?"

"Sebas and one of the Pleiades will travel to Re-Lantier, the capital of the Re-Estize kingdom. Shalltear will accompany them, her objective is to find out about the so called 'Martial Arts', something that YGGDRASIL didn't have. I myself will become an adventurer. Narberal Gamma will join me.", said Ainz. "I also instructed Aura to build a dummy Nazarick in the woods. In case of contact with an enemy, it should direct their focus there."

"What should I do? Join you as an adventurer?", asked Mirea.

"If I may?", interrupted Demiurge. Ainz nodded. "I think the appearance of three beings as strong as you in the same place will attract a lot of attention. Two people might slip under everyone's radar, but when three strong adventurers suddenly appear, it would be all the more suspicious."

"You're right.", admitted Ainz. "And if you'd show up in another city..."

"They'd automatically assume you two know each other. Also, the only other big city in the Re-Estize kingdom would be Re-Lantier, and we already will send Sebas and a Pleiades there.", said Demiurge.

"I could be a traveling smith.", suggested Mirea. "What is the usual quality of equipment around here? I need to forge them accordingly."

"The knights we defeated wore magical armor of higher quality.", said Ainz with a resignated voice.

"Eh? But they were only around level 15!", exclaimed Mirea.

"Exactly. Most gear is unbelievably subpar. Equipment that would rank as around level 40 in YGGDRASIL is nearly the stuff of legends here.", confirmed Ainz.

"But I literally _can't_ forge weapons that bad! Even if I don't imbue them with data crystals, my Forgemaster skill will make them too powerful!", said Mirea disbelievingly.

"Exactly. The only profession you fit in is adventurer outside the Re-Estize kingdom.", said Ainz.

"So where do I go? Slane Theocracy? Baharuth Empire? Another country?", asked Mirea.

"There are no adventurers in the Theocracy, the Holy Kingdom is at war, the Draconic Kingdom is too far, as is the Algrand City State. The only option left is indeed the Baharuth Empire.", said Ainz. "But the Empire is an interesting place. I've heard rumors about the court wizard, a man named Fluder Paradyne. Having surpassed the age of humans by nearly two centuries, and capable of casting 5th or 6th tier magic, he is probably one of the strongest humans."

"Indeed, an interesting individual.", said Demiurge. "I will look into him immediately."

"Do that.", said Ainz. "Now, we need to establish everyone's cover. I will talk with Sebas, Shalltear and...Solution later. As an adventurer, it would be best if you take a companion with you. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Well, who is still available? Entoma doesn't really look human, the guardians have to stay in Nazarick...the only ones left are Yuri, Lupusregina and CZ, right?"

"Correct."

"Hmm...well, as a Monk, Yuri is probably the best option. We still don't know the strength of most monsters, and she can take a lot of damage and draw the aggro of the enemy.", said Mirea.

"That sounds reasonable. Then, you and Yuri will travel to the Baharuth Empire and register as adventurers. Good luck."

After those words, Mirea nodded and took his leave.

* * *

The streets of Arwintar were bustling with life. Humans passed shops and stalls selling their wares, from food to daily necessities everything was offered; there even was a special market only for magical items.

Arwintar, the capital of the Baharuth Empire, was one of the most advanced and prosperous cities around. Especially after the rise of Jircniv Farlord Rune El-Nix, the Bloody Emperor, the wealth of the inhabitants had risen; the quality of life was impressive, further made comfortable by the numerous cheap magical artifacts. In fact, although the Empire had a costly standing army of trained soldiers, the annual war with the Re-Estize kingdom didn't impact the life of the citizens much.

The roads were paved and clean, and countless magical lights would provide good lighting in even the darkest of nights. Indeed, one might call Arwintar the best city ruled by humans.

Along these roads, a pair of humans walked towards the Adventurer Guild. A male of average height with an average face, dressed in high-end equipment and with two obviously enchanted blades at his side was conversing with a woman dressed in similar equipment; she wore a pair of spiked gauntlets though, advertising her skills as a brawler-type fighter.

"It is a shame to dress in clothes like these. The armor is shoddy, and the weapons are only marginally better.", complained the man.

"The equipment is rated as level 70. Compared to the rest of most people, it is something unheard of; nay, even most Adamantite ranked adventurers probably don't have gear of this level.", said the woman.

"I do know that. However, that doesn't change that the equipment isn't up to our standards.", said the man. "Ah, we've arrived."

They stood in front of a big building. The sign above the door read 'Adventurer Guild' in bold letters.

"Let's recap our cover stories. My name is Rau, and yours is Lily. We've just arrived and want to be adventurers. I am a Thief and you are a Monk.", said Mirea, who now went by the aforementioned name. Yuri nodded.

As they opened the door and entered, they were pleasantly surprised by the ambient lighting, provided by a chandelier with magical lights. Looking around, they saw a counter with several women behind it. They walked to woman who seemed to be free.

"Good day.", said Mirea. "We would like to register as adventurers."

The woman smiled. "Alright! Do you require any explanations regarding missions, ranks or the like?"

"No, thank you."

"Good. Then, please state your names."

"I am called Rau and my companion is called Lily.", said Mirea. The woman nodded and filled in two sheets.

"Last names?", she asked.

"No, just Rau and Lily.", said Mirea. The woman nodded again.

"Are you already a party or do you wish to join one? And if you already are a party, are you looking for additional members and what is the name of the party?", she asked.

"It's just us two. We're not looking for anyone else. Our party's name is..." Mirea thought for a second. "Our party's name is not decided as of yet. Is that alright?"

The woman nodded. "It's a little unusual, but with two individuals who don't wish to recruit new members it's not a problem. Your tags will be ready soon, please have a seat in the meantime."

Stowing the sheets away, she left through a door in the back.

"What is our first mission, Sir Rau?", asked Yuri. Though he had tried, Yuri had denied addressing him without an honorific. She had agreed to drop the Lord and replace it with Sir.

"It depends. If we want to rise the ranks quickly, we need to either take a lot of quests in quick succession, or we need a heroic and daring deed. As of now, we are not pressed by time, but we will gain information easier if we have a higher rank. So heroic deed it is. Monster extermination is always a good way to earn fame. And money. We need money, since we can't use YGGDRASIL currency and selling too many valuable items will draw attention."

Yuri nodded. Before she could ask another question, the receptionist returned and waved them over. She handed them two small copper plates. "Here you go. Do you want to take a request or do you need assistance in finding an inn?"

"We would like to know where we can find a large concentration of monsters, preferably strong ones. Please do not worry about us, we have sufficient strength.", said Mirea. The receptionist, torn between sending them to what seemed to be the inevitable death of overconfident beginners or believing them, decided to send them to an area with high monster activity, but only weak ones.

"Outside of the city, if you head north for about two days, you will find a stretch of grassland bordering on a forest. There should be enough activity. If you bring back an identifiable part of the monsters, you will be rewarded accordingly. Also, the amount and type of monsters slain will be added to your record.", she explained. "Identifiable parts usually are the ears of demi-humans and body parts in general. Please know that we only accept parts that proof that a single monster was slain. As an example, if you bring in two goblin ears, you will be rewarded for killing two. If those ears however are opposing each other, we will only pay for one, as you could simply could have cut off both ears. So, if you're cutting off ears, only use the same side of the head. However, you could also use parts like noses or tongues. Those make identification harder though. Some monsters even possess valuable body parts like pelts. Those you can sell either by yourselves or through the guild, although we will take a certain percentage for the guild. If you don't want to bring the corpses with you, please bring an identifying body part and collect the corpses in a single place. If the amount of materials is high enough, the guild will send someone to pick them up later."

"Really? Won't other people loot the corpses?", asked Mirea surprised. The receptionist nodded.

"This is of course a possibility. However, if someone tries to sell a big amount of monster parts without an apparent connection to the guild, he could be investigated and even tried. That is why people usually don't bother stealing if someone leaves a large amount of corpses. Of course, this is only the case if you hunt a lot of valuable monsters. Alternatively, you could hire porters to carry the spoils.", said the woman.

"Interesting.", said Mirea. "But I don't think we really need to fear someone else picking up after us. As soon as we have reached the higher ranks, people will be wary stealing from us, no?"

"That is correct. Once a party has reached Mythril or above, people usually don't do that, since those parties could easily kill them in retaliation. You would have to reach those ranks first, though."

"Alright. Well, you can expect us back in a few days.", said Mirea and left the guild together with Yuri.

* * *

The pair posing as adventurers had left the city and had been walking for some time now, when they spotted a group of goblins. They were armed with clubs and didn't wear any protective gear.

"Hmpf, just a few goblins hoping to make a quick kill.", said Mirea. He waited for the group of monsters to spot them. A minute later, the seven demihumans ran towards them, yelling and swinging their clubs. As soon as they had entered their range, Yuri and Mirea easily dispatched them without the use of skills. After he cut their ears off, he looked at them in surprise.

"Interesting, they drop neither crystals nor money...I guess that is a major change." He put the ears in a bag which he put in his inventory. "Tch, a single goblin will only net us a few copper coins. If we really want to make a lot of money, we have to kill a lot more of those."

Yuri agreed and the two continued their trek for a few uneventful hours before deciding to rest. Since they were alone, Mirea decided to just freshen up for an hour. Yuri was an undead and didn't need sleep, and as an Eldritch Horror it was the same for him; it was one of the boons coming from being a heteromorphic being.

When they continued their journey and neared the area mentioned, the night sky had the first orange tint of dawn. Although they had Nightvision, Mirea knew that more monsters would attack in broad daylight. The walked around the grassland aimlessly and waited for monsters to appear. Half an hour later they rewarded with a group of goblins, led by an ogre.

"Since undead beings are immune to mind-influencing skills, I can activate some passives at a low level.", said Mirea. "[Veil of Shadow] [Solael's Witchfire]"

Having surrounded himself with an aura that slowed enemies and induced fear and paralysis and imbuing his weapons with extra damage, he ran towards the group. "[Amarasta's Blade Burst]"

Using this AoE skill, he managed to kill every monster in front of him. The surviving two goblins and the ogre were quickly slain by Yuri. Mirea sighed. "A dozen goblins and an ogre. This is taking way too long. Maybe we really will need several days out here."

* * *

Several hours later and Mirea and Yuri once again repeated that statement. Although they had killed a lot of monsters, they all were weak ones, goblins, hobgoblins and the occasional ogre. Deciding to try entering the forest to see if there would be stronger enemies, they entered the treeline. It seemed to be the right decision, since after only a few minutes they had to fight several giant spiders. The monsters were called 'Steel Silk Spiders' and were the cause of death of many novice adventurers. In fact, they were one of several reasons why entering the forest was recommended to only Gold adventurers and above.

Weaving between webs of sticky but strong webs Mirea laughed a little. "That's more like it! [Shadow Step]."

Using a skill to appear in the shadows of his enemies, Mirea quickly struck down several spiders with well-placed cuts. Although attacking his enemy from the back, especially unnoticed, gave several buffs to his attacks, being a level 100 character assured he would kill them in one strike anyway. Even Yuri killed such weak – in comparison to the average adventurer – monsters in one hit.

"Those spiders are worth a lot more. Also, this should rise our ranking. If we're lucky, we might get promoted to Iron instantly!", laughed Mirea. "Let's continue this!"

They spent another few hours in the forest, killing several spiders and goblins that had hid in the bushes. Looking into the bag with the parts of the slain monsters, Mirea decided to call it quits for now. They left the forest and marched back to Arwintar. Reaching the city a day later, he looked at Yuri. She didn't seem exhausted, but Ainz had recently told him that he still felt mental exhaustion. He thought of renting a room with the money earned; maybe they should open a Gate there and return to Nazarick for the time being? With those thoughts, they entered the city and walked towards the guild.

As he entered, he saw the same receptionist from a few days ago. Already having pulled out the bag filled to the brim with monster parts, he approached her. "We're done.", he simply announced.

The receptionist looked surprised, but nodded nonetheless. "Please put the parts on this tray.", she said and handed them a metal plate. "We will analyze it in the back. If you wait just a few minutes, we will pay you your reward."

Mirea and Yuri sat down, waiting for the woman to return. After roughly ten minutes she returned with a shocked look on her face. The pair walked to her, ready to receive the reward. Several adventurers seeing the look on the woman's face decided to listen in.

"With the proof of fifty-two goblins, twelve hobgoblins, seven ogres and eighteen Steel Silk Spiders slain your reward comes to a total of twenty silver and forty-four copper.", she stuttered. She was surprised that such novice adventurers had defeated enemies as strong as Steel Silk Spiders. "According to the guild rules, you have slain enough monsters to rise to the rank of Iron."

"That early? We didn't kill that many monsters.", said Mirea.

"W-well, Steel Silk Spiders have a difficulty rating of 30. usually, one would need to be at least a very experienced Silver or Gold ranked adventurer to kill them, especially in those numbers.", explained the receptionist.

"Really? They were pretty weak. Thank you. Do you by chance know of a good inn for the night? We will resume hunting tomorrow.", said Mirea and Yuri nodded.

"Y-yes, just down the street, the Descending Swallow."

"Thank you." Mirea and Yuri left the guild, and instantly the other adventurers began to talk about them.

"Incredible! They just registered and already killed those monsters!", said one.

"They won't stay Iron ranked very long.", said another.

"No, they will easily rise through the ranks. They are at least Mythril.", said the first one.

"Do you think they have the potential to become Adamantite?", asked a third one.

"I don't know.", admitted another. "Those ranked Adamantite are at a level we just can't comprehend. Would be nice to have a second team of Adamantite adventurers though. Can't let those in the kingdom have all the good ones."

"Hahaha! That's right!"

Mirea and Yuri had booked a room at the inn. They opened a Gate to Nazarick and left for their rooms. Deciding to get some form of rest, Mirea changed into his normal form and laid down in his bed. Closing his eyes, he thought about what had happened and the next step to their plans. They had established themselves as successful adventurers and had been fast tracked onto the rank of Iron, although it was obvious that they would be elevated onto the higher ranks soon. Once they had reached one of the top three ranks, they'd be treated with enough respect to gain access to the higher echelons of society. While someone like Fluder Paradyne – the famous Court Magician – might elude them, since they officially did not have a Magic Caster in their team, he could still infiltrate the ranks of the remaining nobles. Of course, he had to discuss his plans with Demiurge and most importantly Ainz, but so far everything went as expected.

Following up on these thoughts, he went into his office and called for Demiurge. The demon arrived several minutes later and bowed in front of the desk. "Lord Mirea."

"Ah, Demiurge. I have called you to discuss the state of our plans. As you might know, Yuri and I have successfully registered as adventurers and already attained the rank of Iron. Of course, we won't stop there. We should reach the higher ranks soon; depending on the circumstances, we might skip a few and directly reach Mythril. How is Ainz faring?"

Demiurge smiled. "Congratulations, Lord Mirea! Lord Ainz has just finished his first quest. He tamed a beast called the Wise King of the Forest and is presently returning to E-Rantel."

"Magnificent!", laughed Mirea. "It seems our plans are progressing as expected. Have you solved the problems we had with acquiring raw materials?"

"Indeed, I have found hides sufficient to replace the ones we use to produce scrolls. Unfortunately, they can't hold spells above the 3rd tier. Titus Annaeus Secundus has started researching the issue, but so far we can't identify the problem."

"Maybe the quality of the hide is subpar? Ah, it doesn't matter. We will find the answer eventually. I am interested in how Ainz will progress as an adventurer. Yuri and I will leave for Arwintar tomorrow again. We will finish another quest as soon as possible. I do hope the rewards increase, as we didn't earn a significant amount of money, even with all the time we spent hunting monsters. Tch, the receptionist just held back on her knowledge."

"Lower life forms don't recognize the extent of your power, Lord Mirea. If you wish for it, we will punish her.", said Demiurge.

"No...ah, but Demiurge, be careful. We don't know the might of every individual. Maybe Ainz found out more. Yes, we need to ask him as soon as he returns.", nodded Mirea in thought. "Thank you for coming. I must ready myself now, as we have to leave soon. It wouldn't do for someone to find an empty room, no?"

Demiurge nodded and bowed down before leaving. Mirea leaned back in his chair and started to plan the next day. It would be interesting. What would be the next quest?

 **A/N: Aaand cut! This AU received mixed reviews, just as I expected. Meh, I won't focus on this story though. I don't know what will be in the third chapter. Shalltear's betrayal will of course be of importance, but I really don't know when I'll post the third chapter. On the upside, a usual chapter will be posted either this evening or tomorrow. Look forward to it!**

 **A/N 2: Sometimes the notes at the beginning and the end of each chapter don't match up or the notes are confusing; it's because I don't usually write a chapter in one setting, but don't really see the need to change them accordingly. People skip them anyway, and they're not really important anyway.**


	18. Aftermath of JaldabothWN Shorts

**A/N: And another update, only a few hours after the last one! Yay! Which means I'll either won't update for some days because I haven't written another chapter, or I did write one but refrain from posting it so you don't get a ton of content but have to wait a few weeks...months...a year...yeah, sounds about right.**

 **It's a collection of one shots, one with WN content. Might confuse some people, so be careful. Next chapter will be the first of three arc chapters. The arc will probably be called 'The Fugitive'. Can't decide on the title, really.**

 **Let's start off with the first one! It's simply called "Arwintar"!**

Life in Arwintar was comfortable. The capital of the Baharuth Empire was highly developed, with an excellent infrastructure – paved roads and magical lighting – as well as an extensive shopping district. Many magical items that aided the daily life of its inhabitants were sold to affordable prices, and items more suitable for adventurers (and subsequently workers) were on display. The Colosseum was a place that was filled to the brim every time it was opened. Of course, the champions had changed, since Uzruth had disappeared and the Champion had been defeated by the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, but it still hosted exciting fights.

The Baharuth Empire itself prospered since the reign of the Blood Emperor Jircniv Farlord Rune El-Nix; no food shortages, no invasions, affordable taxes and competent state officials instead of nobles that had attained their ranks by birthright.

The temples however had changed; ever since the Empire had sworn vassalage to the Sorcerous Kingdom, they had distanced themselves from the Emperor and by proxy from the citizens. This was only logical, since their religion was opposite to the idea of being reigned by an undead. Of course, they didn't say it out loud or even tried to incite a rebellion – they knew of the might of Ainz Ooal Gown – but they had changed in their approach of how they would treat the wounded and sick.

The ones that worried the most about their future were the knights. Although they deep down knew that the Sorcerer King had no need of the Empires army, they still feared to be used as troops for the benefit of Ainz Ooal Gown. Especially since his recent actions included subjugating a race of monsters in the Azerlisian Mountains and a treaty with the dwarfs as well as the war in the Holy Kingdom, which ended with the defeat of the demon Jaldabaoth and the conquest of the Beastmen Tribes. As of know, Ainz Ooal Gown effectively controlled the area around E-Rantel, part of the Katze Plains, the Forest of Tob, the Azerlisian mountain range, the Empire, the beastmen that lived near the Empire and next to the Holy Kingdom; he also held a lot of clout in the Holy Kingdom, although he hadn't claimed any territory as of yet.

This might be due to the fact that the north and south were still squabbling about the control of the Kingdom, especially with the Queen's death. Her brother was slated to reign, but he had been in contact with Ainz Ooal Gown the past few weeks (being rescued by the undead ruler). Also, the people of the Holy Kingdom started to support the Sorcerous Kingdom, as it had not only come to their aid, but liberated them when no other nation agreed to help.

Thus, the knights were anxiously awaiting the next move of Ainz Ooal Gown. Would he start another invasion? Or, to be precise, his first? Such uncertainties kept them awake at night; the ones that had participated in the last war however were kept awake by their night terrors. Refusing to give up any information on what had happened, all their comrades knew was that unspeakable horrors did commit a slaughter – no, a massacre.

The ones who profited the most from the vassalage however were craftsmen, farmers and the owner of mines, plantages or the like. After the signing of the vassalage papers, they were able to borrow undead workers from the Sorcerous Kingdom. While the average farmer did not earn enough to do so, any large scale resource production was now at least partially managed by the undead who worked tirelessly. The output of the mines especially had spiked, supplying the foundries with vast quantities of ore. The more ingots were produced, the cheaper they became, allowing the smiths to produce more equipment for lower costs, which in turn led to lowered prices. Citizens could afford to buy more, strengthening the economy. Some of the mined ore and refined ingots were exported, mostly to the Sorcerous Kingdom. Low tariffs further boosted the economy.

In short, the vassalage had improved the average quality of life.

The citizens of Arwintar had grown accustomed to this and enjoyed their new lives; still not fully supporting their Emperors decision and wary of the new de facto ruler, they nevertheless thrived to live.

* * *

 **The Church of Ainz Ooal Gown**

The last few months had proven to be fruitful for the citizens of the Holy Kingdom. After being liberated, they enjoyed their newfound freedom. Of course, many people had lost not only one or two family members, but their entire livelihood, but they had survived. The prison camps were liberated and everyone was slowly recovering. The reason for this had been the intervention of the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown. As an undead he was the very last being the citizens had been willing to ask for help (in fact, they only did it because everyone else had turned them down), but against the alliance of an incredibly powerful demon and his cohorts and an army of beastmen they had had no other choice; and in the end, it had worked out. The main catalyst of these events had been a woman named Neia Baraia; once a squire of the Paladins, she had been granted several boons by the Sorcerer King and had grown into a hero. Beloved by the public, she had brought order and even rallied thousands together to look for Ainz Ooal Gown. In the end, no search party had been needed, as the Sorcerer King returned on his own after subjugating the beastmen – and what a feat that was! – just in time to defeat Jaldabaoth.

This in turn had led to another surprising development: the people of the Holy Kingdom had started to deviate from their dogma. Though this group of people consisted mainly of those that were present at the two battles between the skeleton and the demon, they had seen the power of Gods. Coupled with the facts that they had never seen the Gods they believed in nor had they been saved by those that worshiped them, a number of people led by Neia distanced themselves from the old believes. While not outright declaring Ainz a god, they definitely leaned more towards him; it would only be a matter of time until they did so.

Incidentally, a similar process had started in the Sorcerous Kingdom. The citizens of E-Rantel still cowered before their new ruler, but one place was exempt from this: Carne Village. Having been saved by Ainz Ooal Gown several times and developing into a prosperous and bigger village – with the prospect of evolving into a city – they had wholeheartedly started to support Ainz. Coupled with the absence of a priest or the Temples, no one was stopping this development.

The last group of people that obviously revered Ainz – and the other Supreme Beings – as a God were of course the inhabitants of Nazarick. In their eyes it was only natural to worship these beings; their creators and their leader.

Having these things in common, there was of course one ready to capitalize on this: Demiurge. And thus, the Church of Ainz Ooal Gown was born.

* * *

 **WN – A day in the life of Brain Unglaus**

Brain was slowly walking through the halls of Nazarick. His mistress had given him no new orders, so he still was supposed to train Hamsuke, a Death Knight and the Lizardmen. His defeat of Uzruth had been a welcome distraction, although short lived. The man had been a formidable foe and he would certainly have struggled against him had he still been human, but his new equipment and his improved body – a vampire was naturally stronger and faster than a human – had made the fight to easy.

To sum it up, Brain was bored. And he didn't like it.

Stagnation was a dangerous thing. Not only wouldn't he progress as a warrior, he felt unfulfilled if he couldn't serve his mistress (and Lord Ainz, by proxy). With a sigh he walked towards the training room. As he entered, he saw everyone executing the forms he taught them. Hamsuke herself was close to learning a Martial Art, he was sure of it. His mistress would certainly reward.

 _Ah, Mistress Shalltear._

He shivered in delight.

Focusing his gaze on the lizardmen he began the arduous task of teaching. He never had been one to teach others, teaching most of his skills to himself via trial and error. One of the teachers he had spent any time with had been that old necromancer (that had easily defeated him despite her age), and even that had been just a few hours when she gave him some advice. Now, he regretted it, although he was sure he wouldn't have progressed as well as he had done by himself.

Shaking his head to focus back on teaching, he once again scrutinized the lizardmen. Stopping halfway through would only disappoint his mistress.

And he couldn't disappoint her, right?

* * *

 **WN – It's all about the money**

Narberal Gamma, once again in the disguise of Momon, sat in her room at the Golden Pavilion. After rising through the ranks of adventurers due to the defeat of the Skeletal Dragon, she – or rather he – had to keep up appearances. While the inn was exceedingly expensive, he was now known as a strong adventurer with connections to a powerful and rich Magic Caster. It was only normal that he would live in such luxury.

However, he had a big problem: money. While the gems Lizzie Bareare had given him in exchange for the potion, this amount of money was easily burned through in such an establishment. Lord Ainz had not given him any money either. Momon wasn't exactly sure why, but thought it to be a test. After all, what else should it be? It most certainly was a test to see how adaptable he was! Thus, he needed money; and the only money he could earn came from quests.

However, not only were well-paying quests rare, he also was at a level where most quests would be laughably easy and would be beneath his pride. Such a conundrum put Momon between a rock and a hard place; the only way out would probably to ask the guild master for a quest.

Could he do it? Would it seem greedy? Pondering on such problems, Momon was interrupted by someone knocking on his door frantically. As he opened it, he was greeted by a maid.

"Mr. Momon! Quick! The guild master asked for you! It seems something is happening!"

Having delivered the message, the maid turned around and left. Momon smiled. What would happen now? He could only wait.


End file.
